Older age at the completion of linear growth is associated with an increased risk of adult glioma

• Published in: Cancer causes & control 2017-07, Vol.28 (7), p.709-718
• Main Authors: Little, Rebecca B., Nabors, L. Burt, Olson, Jeffrey J., Thompson, Zachary J., Rozmeski, Carrie M., LaRocca, Renato V., Forsyth, Peter A., Thompson, Reid C., Oster, Robert A., Chowdhary, Sajeel A., Egan, Kathleen M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Body Height; Brain Neoplasms - epidemiology; Brain tumors; Cancer Research; Case-Control Studies; Categories; Confidence intervals; Data processing; Education; Epidemiology; Exposure; Female; Geriatrics; Glioblastoma; Glioma; Glioma - epidemiology; Hematology; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Oncology; ORIGINAL PAPER; Public Health; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Risk management; Teenagers; Time measurement; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0957-5243; 1573-7225
• DOI: 10.1007/s10552-017-0871-5

Purpose To examine the association of age when adult height was attained with glioma risk. Methods We analyzed data from a US-based case–control study of glioma risk factors. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) associated between age at attainment of adult height and glioma risk. Multivariate models were adjusted for age, race, sex, education, and state of residence. We examined associations overall, and according to glioma grade, sex, and final adult height. Results The study set included n  = 951 controls and n  = 776 cases, with a median age of 56 (18–92); the majority was male (53.8%) and identified as Caucasian. Older age at height completion was associated with an increased risk of glioma. A significant positive trend was observed both for glioblastoma (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.04–1.17 per 1-year increase in age) and lower grade non-glioblastoma subtypes combined (OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.10–1.28 per year increase in age). The association was observed in men and women, and in all categories of final adult height. Conclusions We observed for the first time a positive association between glioma risk and a prolonged adolescent growth phase. Our results suggest a role for factors governing the timing and intensity of growth in adolescence as risk-determining exposures in adult glioma.