Obesity and related risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms among israeli adolescents

Objective: Obesity has been associated with various malignancies, but a clear association between overweight and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) has not been established. Methods: This study assessed the association between adolescent obesity and future risk for MPN. Data on 2,516,256 Israeli adolescents, who underwent a compulsory general health examination at ages 16 to 19, between 1967 and 2011, were linked to the National Cancer Registry in this nationwide, population-based cohort study. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for MPN associated with BMI measured at adolescence. Results: The mean follow-up of 19.86 ± 12.15 years reflected 49,977,521 person years, during which 433 examinees developed MPN, primarily chronic myelogenous leukemia, polycythemia vera, and essential thrombocythemia. Obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) in adolescence significantly predicted increased risk of MPN with HR (adjusted for sex) of 1.81 (95% confidence interval 1.13-2.92, P = 0.014). Conclusions: Adolescent obesity might be related to an increased incidence of myeloproliferative neoplasms.