PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Emelie Benyi AU - Marie Linder AU - Johanna Adami AU - Helle Kieler AU - Mårten Palme AU - Lars Sävendahl TI - Adult height is associated with risk of cancer and mortality in 5.5 million Swedish women and men AID - 10.1136/jech-2018-211040 DP - 2019 Aug 01 TA - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health PG - 730--736 VI - 73 IP - 8 4099 - http://jech.bmj.com/content/73/8/730.short 4100 - http://jech.bmj.com/content/73/8/730.full SO - J Epidemiol Community Health2019 Aug 01; 73 AB - Background Previous studies have indicated that taller individuals are at greater risk of developing cancer. Death from cancer and other specific causes have also been linked to height, but the results have been inconclusive. We aimed to shed further light on the associations between height, cancer incidence and mortality.Methods We conducted a nationwide, population-based prospective cohort study, including 5.5 million Swedish women and men (aged 20–74). They were followed over a period of up to 54 years. Heights were retrieved from national registers (mainly the Passport Register where heights are most often self-reported). The risks of overall and specific cancers, as well as overall and cause-specific mortality, were presented as HR with 95% CIs per 10 cm increase in height.Results A total of 278 299 cases of cancer and 139 393 cases of death were identified. For overall cancer, HR was 1.19 (1.18–1.20) in women and 1.11 (1.10–1.12) in men for every 10 cm increase in height. All 15 specific cancer types were positively associated with height—most strongly for malignant melanoma in both genders, with HRs of 1.39 (1.35–1.43) in women and 1.34 (1.30–1.38) in men. For overall mortality, HR was 0.98 (0.97–0.99) in women and 0.91 (0.90–0.92) in men for every 10 cm increase in height. Cancer mortality was increased in taller individuals, with HR 1.15 (1.13–1.17) in women and 1.05 (1.03–1.07) in men for every 10 cm increase in height, whereas shorter individuals had increased overall mortality due to a number of other causes, such as cardiovascular disease.Conclusion Overall and specific cancer risks, particularly malignant melanoma, were positively associated with height. Cancer mortality also increased with height. In contrast, overall mortality was decreased with height, particularly in men due to inverse associations with height for other causes of death.