Cancer rates are rising in younger adults in England (2001–2019), linked to obesity and lifestyle factors, and possibly gut health changes, even though diets have improved and smoking has stayed steady.
Cancer is no longer just an older-age issue. Younger adults are seeing more cancer despite improvements in diet and lifestyle habits.
Cancer cases are increasing in England for both younger and older people. However, bowel and ovarian cancers are rising only in people under 50, finds a new study.
The findings of the study are published in the journal BMJ Oncology (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
emporal trends in behavioural risk factors for cancers with rising incidence in younger adults: an analysis of population-based data in England
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Some other types of cancer are also rising faster in younger adults than they are in older adults, the findings indicate.
While
Why are Cancers Increasing Faster in Under-50s?
The rising incidence of several cancers among the under 50s isn’t unique to England, but it’s not clear if changes in behavioural risk factors might explain these trends, highlight the researchers.
To find out, they analysed cancer incidence trends in England from the National Disease Registry Service for the period 2001 to 2019, comparing patterns by sex in two age groups: 20–49 year olds and those aged 50+ for more than 20 different cancer types.
They used national health surveys to look at trends in established risk factors: smoking; alcohol intake; diet (high red/processed meat, low fibre intake);
More Than Half of Cancers Increasing in Younger Women and Men
Analysis of the data showed that new cases of 16 out of 22 cancers in younger women, and 11 out of 21 cancers in younger men, increased significantly in England between 2001 and 2019.
In particular, there was a significant rise in 11 cancers with known behavioural risk factors among the under 50s. These were: thyroid; multiple myeloma; liver; kidney; gallbladder; bowel; pancreatic; womb lining (endometrial); mouth; breast; and ovarian cancers.
Rates of all these cancers also rose significantly among the over 50s, with the notable exceptions of bowel and ovarian cancers.
Five Cancers Rising Faster in Young Women
And 5 cancers—endometrial, kidney, pancreatic,
Obesity and Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits: The Culprits Behind Many Cancer Types
With the exception of mouth cancer, all 11 cancers were associated with
Red Meat Intake Drops Sharply, Yet Cancer Trends Keep Climbing
But with the exception of excess weight, trends in these risk factors over the past one to two decades have been stable or improving for younger adults, with the largest reductions of around 7% in
The average daily amount of red meat eaten fell from 38 g in 2008 to 17 g in 2018 among younger men, and from 22 g to 10 g in younger women. And average processed meat intake in younger women was half that of younger men: 10 g vs around 20 g.
Low Fibre Diet and Cancer Risk: A Growing Health Concern
And while more than 90% of
Smoking, Alcohol and Obesity Drive Many Cancer Cases
Established behavioural risk factors accounted for a substantial share of cancer cases. In 2019 these contributed 68%–65% of mouth cancers for younger and older men, respectively; 42%–48% of liver cancers; 49%–53% of
Among women they accounted for 52%–45% of mouth cancers; 35%–42% of endometrial cancers; 44%–46% of
Excess Weight Emerges as Top Cancer Risk Factor
Excess weight was the risk factor associated with most cancers in 2019, ranging from 5% for
“These patterns suggest that while similar risk factors across ages are likely, some cancers may have age-specific exposures, susceptibilities, or differences in screening and detection practices,” write the researchers.
This is an observational data analysis, and as such, can’t establish cause and effect. And the researchers acknowledge that there were no consistent, long term national data for several risk factors, and that their analysis was restricted to England rather than the UK.
The findings were also based on the assumption of a 10-year lag period between exposure and cancer incidence.
Why Cancer Incidence is Rising Even with Better Habits?
“The observed increasing cancer incidence despite declining trends in several behavioural risk factors may reflect the net effect of multiple influences operating in different directions. Other contributing factors not evaluated here, for example, reproductive history, early-life or prenatal risk factors, and changes in cancer diagnosis and detection practices, may also play a role,” they explain.
“Although overweight and obesity are linked to 10 of the 11 cancers evaluated and account for a substantial proportion of cancer cases, both BMI-attributable and BMI-non-attributable incidence rates have increased—though the latter more slowly—suggesting other contributors,” they add.
Ultra-Processed Diets, Antibiotics, Sugary Drinks and Sedentary Living Linked to Cancer Trends
Several other risk factors have been mooted as driving the rising incidence of cases among younger adults, including
Gut Health May Hold Clues to Rising Cancer Cases
“While these factors are common in England, most have shown stable or declining trends in the last decade,” although another suggested contributory factor—a disordered gut microbiome–merits further investigation, they point out.
A degree of perspective is also needed, they suggest. “Although increases in cancer in younger adults are concerning, the absolute burden remains far higher in older adults, underscoring the public health and clinical importance of studying risk factors across all ages,” they conclude.
Reference:
- Temporal trends in behavioural risk factors for cancers with rising incidence in younger adults: an analysis of population-based data in England – (https://bmjoncology.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000966)
Source-Eurekalert