Waist circumference is a significant risk factor of liver cancer

Objectives:
Does high waist circumference increase liver cancer?

Study design:
This review article included  5 prospective cohort studies with 2,547,188 participants.
Participants were aged 46-58 years, with a mean age of 51 years.
The mean follow-up of participants in the studies was 7.8 years.
The mean quality (NOS scores) of the studies included was 7 (ranging from 5 to 9).

Funnel plots did not show significant asymmetry between the studies included.
Furthermore, Begg's and Egger's regression test did not show any significant publication bias (p = 0.62 and p = 0.60, respectively).

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found combined results of the studies included with random-effects model showed that the highest waist circumference category was significantly associated with an increased risk of 59% for liver cancer [HR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.38-1.83, I2 = 0%, p = 0.42] compared to the lowest waist circumference category.

The investigators concluded that waist circumference is a significant risk factor related to the incidence of liver cancer.

Original title:
Waist Circumference and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of over 2 Million Cohort Study Participants by Rahmani J, Kord Varkaneh H, [...], Zhang Y.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7024879/

Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on cancer and obesity/overweight right here.