FLICKR, KATHLEEN ZARUBIN

According to a new meta-analysis of previous studies, taller women have a slightly higher risk of getting ovarian cancer than shorter women, reported BBC News. The study, published Tuesday (April 3) in PLoS Medicine, supports the conclusions of similar analyses that suggest taller women may be at a higher risk of a variety of cancer types. The new study analyzed data from over 25,000 women across 14 countries and saw an increased frequency of the disease in taller women, as well as those with a larger body-mass index.

"By bringing together the worldwide evidence, it became clear that height is a risk factor," lead researcher Valerie Beral of Oxford University told the BBC. Although the increase is significant, “the absolute risk difference is small. The shorter woman will have a lifetime risk of about 16-in-a-1000, which increases to 20-in-a-1000 for the taller woman,”...

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