Global Patterns and Temporal Trends in Ovarian and Uterine Cancer Mortality Attributable to High Body-Mass Index,...

Background/Objectives: The risk factors for ovarian and uterine cancer remain insufficiently known. This study aimed to assess global trends in mortality from ovarian and uterine cancer attributable to high body-mass index (BMI) in 1990-2023. Methods: An observational epidemiological study was conducted. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) of mortality were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease study. Trends were evaluated using joinpoint analysis. The Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC, %), with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI), was calculated. Results: Globally, the trend in ASRs of ovarian cancer deaths attributable to high BMI increased significantly (AAPC = +0.4%, 95% CI = 0.3 to 0.5). The growth trend in South Asia (AAPC = +8.7%, 95% CI = 8.1 to 9.2) was 30 times greater than in Eastern Europe (AAPC = +0.3%, 95% CI = 0.1 to 0.5). Declining trends in mortality from ovarian cancer were observed only in Australasia (AAPC = -0.2%, 95% CI = -0.4 to -0.1), High-income North America (AAPC = -0.3%, 95% CI = -0.6 to -0.0), and Western Europe (AAPC = -0.7%, 95% CI = -0.8 to -0.6). For uterine cancer, the global trend of mortality also increased (AAPC = +0.1, 95% CI = 0.0 to 0.2), with the trend growing fastest in South Asia (AAPC = +4.2%, 95% CI = 4.0 to 4.4). Decreasing trends in mortality from uterine cancer due to high BMI were observed only in Central Asia (AAPC = -0.6%, 95% CI = -0.9 to -0.4), East Asia (AAPC = -2.2%, 95% CI = -2.6 to -1.8), and Southern Latin America (AAPC = -0.4%, 95% CI = -0.6 to -0.1). Additionally, an accelerated increase in mortality trends for both ovarian and uterine cancer attributable to high BMI was observed in 2020-2023, which corresponds to the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: Further analytical epidemiological studies are required to clarify the relationship between ovarian and uterine cancer and high BMI.