Vaidehi Ulaganathan1, Mirnalini Kandiah2, Zalilah Mohd Shariff3
1 Department of Healthcare Professional, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Management and Science University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
2 Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ucsi University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
DOI: 10.4103/jcar.JCar_2_18
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Obesity has frequently been associated with the dyslipidemic state and with the risk of various chronic diseases.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between obesity and blood lipids with a risk of colorectal cancer (CRC).
METHODOLOGY: Histologically confirmed CRC patients from five local hospitals were matched with cancer-free controls for age, gender, and ethnicity (n = 140: 280). The study participants underwent physical assessment for the presence of obesity and 10 mL of fasting blood was drawn for blood lipid analysis.
RESULTS: In this study, abdominal obesity significantly doubled the risk of CRC (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1–2.83). Hypercholesterolemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) increased the risk of CRC more than twofolds (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.7–3.9 and AOR = 3.8, 95% CI = 2.3–6.3, respectively). Abdominal obesity and hypercholesterolemia synergically doubled the risk of CRC (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1–4). Low-HDL has shown no synergic association with other dyslipidemic states with an increased CRC risk.
CONCLUSION: Improving abdominal obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and low HDL may be a clinically relevant strategy to reduce the risk of CRC among Malaysians.
Keywords: Abdominal obesity, colorectal cancer, hypercholesterolemia