Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The effect of reproductive history on the risk of cervical, colorectal and thyroid cancers and melanoma has been explored but the results to date are inconsistent. We aimed to examine in a record- linkage cohort study the risk of developing these cancers, as well as breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers, among mothers who had given birth to twins compared with those who had only singleton pregnancies. Women who delivered a baby in Sweden between 1961 and 1996 and who were 15 years or younger in 1961 were selected from the Swedish civil birth register and linked with the Swedish cancer registry. We used Poisson regression to assess associations between reproductive factors and cancer. Twinning was associated with reduced risks of breast, colorectal, ovarian and uterine cancers, although no relative risks were statistically significant. The delivery of twins did not increase the risk of any cancers studied. Increasing numbers of maternities were associated with significantly reduced risks of all tumors except thyroid cancer. We found positive associations between a later age at first birth and breast cancer and melanoma, while there were inverse associations with cervix, ovarian, uterine and colorectal cancers. These findings lend weight to the hypothesis that hormonal factors influence the etiology of colorectal cancer in women, but argue against any strong effect of hormones on the development of melanoma or tumors of the thyroid.</jats:p>

Original publication

DOI

10.1375/twin.8.2.156

Type

Journal article

Journal

Twin Research and Human Genetics

Publisher

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Publication Date

01/04/2005

Volume

8

Pages

156 - 162