Taller Women at Higher Risk for Ovarian Cancer

Taller women face a higher risk of ovarian cancer, although the difference is small, according to a new study out of Oxford University. "If we compare a woman who is 5 feet tall with a woman who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, there is a relative difference in ovarian cancer risk of 23%," the lead researchers tells the BBC. "But the absolute risk difference is small. The shorter woman will have a lifetime risk of about 16-in-a-1,000, which increases to 20-in-a-1,000 for the taller woman."

The research covered data from 25,000 women with ovarian cancer and 80,000 without ovarian cancer, taken from 47 epidemiological studies in 14 countries. The study also found a link between obesity and ovarian cancer in women who have not received hormone replacement therapy. "Women can reduce their risk of this and many other diseases by keeping to a healthy weight," says a British health information officer. ABC News also reports on the study, and rounds up other diseases with seeming connections to to height, including Alzheimer's and diabetes. (More ovarian cancer stories.)