Guide To Colon Cancer Causes And Risk Factors
Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle can cause an individual to have a higher risk of developing colon cancer than one who has a more active lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle is best defined as a type of lifestyle will very little or even no physical activity. The exact correlation between a sedentary lifestyle and colon cancer is not clear, but it is thought to be associated with the development of a metabolic disorder, inflammation, and adiposity accumulation.
Other factors can compound the sedentary lifestyle risk factor for colon cancer, such as insulin resistance, altered secretion of adipokines, and increased levels of sex hormones. A sedentary lifestyle also slows down an individual's metabolism and slows the movement of food through their gastrointestinal tract. Slowed digestive motility is known to produce chronic inflammation and intestinal tissue damage, which can increase an individual's risk of developing colon cancer.
Diabetes
A common increased risk factor that implicates a good number of individuals is diabetes, a disease characterized by persistent high blood glucose levels and insulin resistance. An increased risk of colon cancer is associated with type 2 diabetes more than it is with type 1 diabetes. The body produces insulin, but the tissues do not respond to it appropriately in an individual with type 2 diabetes. Individuals with type 2 diabetes often develop chronic compensatory hyperinsulinemia. This type of diabetes has a high correlation with a high-calorie diet, excess abdominal fat, and increased body weight.
Carcinogenesis in type 2 diabetes patients is exacerbated by the interactions of insulin-like growth factor-1. The interaction of the insulin hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptors can prolong cell survival and stimulate the proliferation of cells. Both of these characteristics are important for the formation of malignancy in a patient's tissues. Diabetes also promotes inflammation in the body through several mechanisms, which compounds the risk of developing colon cancer.
