Exercise, Housework Cut Uterine Cancer Risk
NEW YORK AUG 17, 2007 (Reuters Health) – Premenopausal women who are very physically active — especially those who put in the most work around the house — may be cutting their risk of developing cancer of the uterine lining.
Among 253,023 women followed for more than six years, those who had not yet reached menopause at the study’s outset and were the most physically active were 34 percent less likely to develop endometrial cancer than their more sedentary peers. Three to four hours of household or recreational activity each day produced the greatest benefit.
“This amount and type of activity is achievable by many in the at-risk population,” Dr. Christine Friedenreich of the Alberta Cancer Board in Calgary, Canada and her colleagues write in the International Journal of Cancer.
Several studies have tied exercise with reduced endometrial cancer risk, but just two examined total activity rather than just occupational or recreational activity only, Friedenreich and her team point out.
To better understand what types of physical activity might be protective, the researchers analyzed data from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC), which includes more than 500,000 men and women living in 10 European countries.
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