Skip to main content
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1991 May;81(5):639–642. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.5.639

Physical activity on the job and cancer in Missouri.

R C Brownson 1, J C Chang 1, J R Davis 1, C A Smith 1
PMCID: PMC1405078  PMID: 2014869

Abstract

We conducted a series of case-control studies to investigate the risks of 16 cancer types in relation to occupational physical activity. These studies were based on Missouri Cancer Registry data for 17,147 White male cancer patients registered between 1984 and 1989. Colon cancer risk was increased for both the moderate (odds ratio (OR) = 1.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.0, 1.3) and low (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.0, 1.5) activity levels. Similar elevations were observed for prostate cancer at the moderate (OR = 1.1; 95% CI = 1.0, 1.3) and low (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.2, 1.8) levels of activity, and for cancer of the testis at the low activity level (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.3, 3.7). An opposite trend (p less than 0.01) was noted for lung cancer, which showed decreased risk at the moderate (OR = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.8, 1.0) and low (OR = 0.8; 95% CI = 0.6, 0.9) activity levels. These associations suggest that further study of the relationship between physical activity and site-specific cancer risk is warranted.

Full text

PDF
640

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albanes D., Blair A., Taylor P. R. Physical activity and risk of cancer in the NHANES I population. Am J Public Health. 1989 Jun;79(6):744–750. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.6.744. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brownson R. C., Davis J. R., Chang J. C., DiLorenzo T. M., Keefe T. J., Bagby J. R., Jr A study of the accuracy of cancer risk factor information reported to a central registry compared with that obtained by interview. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Mar;129(3):616–624. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115174. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brownson R. C., Zahm S. H., Chang J. C., Blair A. Occupational risk of colon cancer. An analysis by anatomic subsite. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Oct;130(4):675–687. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fredriksson M., Bengtsson N. O., Hardell L., Axelson O. Colon cancer, physical activity, and occupational exposures. A case-control study. Cancer. 1989 May 1;63(9):1838–1842. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19900501)63:9<1838::aid-cncr2820630930>3.0.co;2-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Frisch R. E., Wyshak G., Albright N. L., Albright T. E., Schiff I., Witschi J., Marguglio M. Lower lifetime occurrence of breast cancer and cancers of the reproductive system among former college athletes. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Jan;45(1 Suppl):328–335. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.1.328. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Garabrant D. H., Peters J. M., Mack T. M., Bernstein L. Job activity and colon cancer risk. Am J Epidemiol. 1984 Jun;119(6):1005–1014. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113805. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gerhardsson M., Floderus B., Norell S. E. Physical activity and colon cancer risk. Int J Epidemiol. 1988 Dec;17(4):743–746. doi: 10.1093/ije/17.4.743. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gerhardsson M., Norell S. E., Kiviranta H., Pedersen N. L., Ahlbom A. Sedentary jobs and colon cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1986 May;123(5):775–780. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. HOFFMAN S. A., PASCHKIS K. E., DEBIAS D. A., CANTAROW A., WILLIAMS T. L. The influence of exercise on the growth of transplanted rat tumors. Cancer Res. 1962 Jun;22:597–599. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Holdstock D. J., Misiewicz J. J., Smith T., Rowlands E. N. Propulsion (mass movements) in the human colon and its relationship to meals and somatic activity. Gut. 1970 Feb;11(2):91–99. doi: 10.1136/gut.11.2.91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. LaPorte R. E., Cauley J. A., Kinsey C. M., Corbett W., Robertson R., Black-Sandler R., Kuller L. H., Falkel J. The epidemiology of physical activity in children, college students, middle-aged men, menopausal females and monkeys. J Chronic Dis. 1982;35(10):787–795. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(82)90090-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Hyde R. T., Wing A. L. Physical activity and incidence of cancer in diverse populations: a preliminary report. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Jan;45(1 Suppl):312–317. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.1.312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Percy C., Stanek E., 3rd, Gloeckler L. Accuracy of cancer death certificates and its effect on cancer mortality statistics. Am J Public Health. 1981 Mar;71(3):242–250. doi: 10.2105/ajph.71.3.242. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Reddy B. S., Sugie S., Lowenfels A. Effect of voluntary exercise on azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in male F344 rats. Cancer Res. 1988 Dec 15;48(24 Pt 1):7079–7081. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Severson R. K., Nomura A. M., Grove J. S., Stemmermann G. N. A prospective analysis of physical activity and cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Sep;130(3):522–529. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115366. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Slattery M. L., Schumacher M. C., Smith K. R., West D. W., Abd-Elghany N. Physical activity, diet, and risk of colon cancer in Utah. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Nov;128(5):989–999. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115072. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Vena J. E., Graham S., Zielezny M., Brasure J., Swanson M. K. Occupational exercise and risk of cancer. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Jan;45(1 Suppl):318–327. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.1.318. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Vena J. E., Graham S., Zielezny M., Swanson M. K., Barnes R. E., Nolan J. Lifetime occupational exercise and colon cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Sep;122(3):357–365. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114116. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Zahm S. H., Brownson R. C., Chang J. C., Davis J. R. Study of lung cancer histologic types, occupation, and smoking in Missouri. Am J Ind Med. 1989;15(5):565–578. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700150509. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES