In the ongoing search for a cancer cure, a large study of male and female Swedes implies that the greater a person's height is, the higher their risk of the disease is. Each inch of height increased the diagnosis rate for the ailment as a whole, and particular types including breast and skin cancer.
The study's results were scheduled to be presented at the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology's annual meeting. That was in Barcelona, Spain, on October 1, Thursday.
Researchers examined data on 5.5 million of Sweden's citizens who were born between the years 1938 and 1991. Volunteers were tracked from the age of 20 years old, through 2011. The range of adult heights was 3 feet 3 inches (1 meter), to a little over 7 feet (2.1 meters).
Scientists learned that for every 4 extra inches (10.1 centimeters) of adult height, the cancer risk increased 18 percent in women. The rate was 11 percent higher in men.
Both men and women had a greater chance of developing sunlight-caused melanoma. It boosted the risk of cancer by around 30 percent per each 4 extra inches of height.
Taller woman also had a higher risk of developing breast cancer. The likelihood was 20 percent higher.
Dr. Emelie Benyi of the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden was the lead researcher. She claimed that her team's study was likely the largest one that linked height and cancer to both genders, according to CBS News.
The researchers are planning a follow-up study. It will examine if height also influences the risk of cancer mortality and general rates of early death.
Some medical experts argued that the study did not consider several other cancer risk factors, according to BBC. Methods to reduce the risk of cancer include maintaining a healthy diet and active lifestyle.
The all-time tallest person in recorded history was Robert Pershing Wadlow of the United States. He was last measured in 1940 to be 8 feet 11 inches (2.7 meters) tall.
This video includes some tips to help prevent cancer: