Being overweight or obese could increase the risk of a specific type of brain tumour by up to 54%, according to a German study reported last night.
Compared to people who are a normal weight, those who were overweight – with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 – were 21% more likely to develop a meningioma, while obese people, who have a BMI of 30 or more are 54% more likely to develop one.
The association between them was made after researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Regensburg, Regensburg, undertook a meta-analysis of all of the available research on BMI, physical activity and the most common brain tumours in adults, meningioma and glioma.
They examined 12 studies on BMI and six on physical activity, involving 2,982 meningioma cases and 3,057 glioma cases.
However, writing in Neurology, the authors found no relationship between being overweight or obese and glioma, a tumour that occurs at a similar rate to meningioma.
Dr Gundula Behrens, meta-analysis author, said: “This is an important finding since there are few known risk factors for meningioma and the ones we do know about are not things a person can change.
“Given the high prevalence of obesity and the unfavourable prognosis for this type of tumour, these findings may be relevant for strategies aimed at reducing the risk of meningioma.”
People who did a lot of exercise had a moderately decreased risk of meningioma, with those that did the most physical activity being 27% less likely to have a meningioma than those with the lowest amount of activity.
Dr Behrens said a number of biological processes could potentially link being overweight and obese to the increased risk of meningioma, including the fact that excess weight is linked to over-production of oestrogen and oestrogens promote the development of meningioma.
Being overweight or obese is also is linked to high levels of insulin, which could promote meningioma growth.
Dr Behrens said the study only demonstrated an association between excess weight and lack of physical activity with brain tumours; it did not prove that those factors cause them.
The study was supported by the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Germany.
Neurology 17 September 2015 [abstract]
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