Obesity and colorectal adenomatous polyps: a cross-sectional study in Korean adults

This study aimed to examine the association between obesity and the risk of colorectal adenomatous polyps.

The design of this study is a cross-sectional study. A total of 1,574 participants (818 males and 756 females), who had undergone colonoscopy for health examinations at the National Cancer Center hospital in South Korea from February to September 2009, were included in the analysis.

The prevalence of colorectal adenomatous polyps was 39.5% in males and 22.6% in females. In multiple logistic regression analysis, obesity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.16-2.48) and abdominal obesity (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.13-2.23) were significantly associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenomatous polyps in males, but not in females. In the subgroup analyses by age, obesity (OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.32-3.89), and abdominal obesity (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.12-2.76) significantly increased a risk of colorectal adenomatous polyps in males aged <50 years, but not in males aged ≥50 years. However, interaction terms were not significant between obesity and gender (P = 0.397) and between obesity and age (P = 0.531) in the overall analyses.

Our findings should be explored in further research.