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THYROID CANCER
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Researchers combined data from the CTS and 21 other prospective studies to study the effect of body size on thyroid cancer risk. In this study, greater height, waist circumference, young-adult BMI, and adulthood BMI gain were all associated with increased thyroid cancer risk, including anaplastic carcinoma—the least common but most aggressive form of thyroid cancer. Read more here.
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CTS participants who lived in a rural area during early childhood had a significantly reduced risk of developing papillary thyroid cancer as an adult. Read more here.
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A 2013 study found that CTS participants whose long-term physical activity averaged at least 5.5 MET hours per week had a non-significant 23% lower risk of papillary thyroid cancer risk than inactive women. For participants with a BMI <25, long-term recreational moderate and strenuous physical activity was associated with reduced risk of papillary thyroid cancer. Read more here.
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Among younger women (<45 years at baseline), later age at first menstruation (>or=14 years) was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Risk was also elevated in young women with longer menstrual cycles (>30 days) and whose last pregnancy had ended within five years of cohort enrollment. These results suggest that factors related to delayed puberty may play a role in papillary thyroid cancer risk. Read more here.
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