Heightened risk: Men who are tall should pay extra attention to prostate health.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—In a study published this month in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers at the New York University School of Medicine found that very tall men have are at increased risk for developing early-onset, aggressive prostate cancer than men who are several inches shorter.

THE DETAILS: Researchers from New York University School of Medicine used data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial to examine the possible relationship between height and risk of prostate cancer. They looked at 34,268 men, all of whom had completed a risk factor questionnaire at the outset of the study. During a follow-up period lasting up to 8.9 years, 2,144 men developed prostate cancer. Height was not associated with the risk of prostate cancer overall, or of nonaggressive prostate cancer, but the risk of aggressive prostate cancer did tend to be greater in taller men who were age 65 or under. In fact, men in that age group who were taller than 6 foot 3 were 39 percent more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer than men who were 5 foot 7 or less.

WHAT IT MEANS: What's the connection between height and prostate cancer? The study authors point out that certain hormone both influence height, and have been implicated in prostate cancer in previous research. Lead study author Jiyoung Ahn, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at New York University School of Medicine, also notes that the link between height and prostate cancer could simply be genetic. Whatever the reason, the apparent increased risk of prostate cancer is cause for tall men to be especially diligent in taking healthy precautions.