Body-Mass Index and Pancreatic Cancer Incidence: A Pooled Analysis of Nine Population-Based Cohort Studies With More Than 340,000 Japanese Subjects

Background: A high body mass index (BMI) has been proposed as an important risk factor for pancreatic cancer. However, this association of BMI with pancreatic cancer risk has not been confirmed in Asian populations. Methods: We evaluated the association between BMI (either at baseline or during early adulthood) and pancreatic cancer risk by conducting a pooled analysis of nine population-based prospective cohort studies in Japan with more than 340,000 subjects. Summary hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by pooling study-specific HRs for unified BMI categories with a random-effects model. Results: Among Japanese men, being obese at baseline was associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer incidence (≥30 kg/m2 compared with 23 to