Association of body mass index with cancer risk among adults with and without cardiometabolic diseases

It is unclear whether cancer risk associated with higher body mass index (BMI) differs among adults with and without cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D). An individual participant data meta-analysis of the prospective cohort studies UK Biobank (UKB) and European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) evaluated separate and joint associations of BMI and CVD/T2D with the risk of cancer. The analysis found that irrespective of CVD/T2D status, higher BMI was associated with increased risk of obesity-related cancers among adults, while there was an additive interaction between obesity and CVD, suggesting that obesity prevention would translate into a greater cancer risk reduction among population groups with CVD than among the general population.