Birth characteristics and risk of meningioma in a population-based study in California

David J Cote; Rong Wang; Libby M Morimoto; Catherine Metayer; Jessica Stempel; Gabriel Zada; Xiaomei Ma; Joseph L Wiemels

doi:10.1093/noajnl/vdac173

Birth characteristics and risk of meningioma in a population-based study in California

Neurooncol Adv. 2022 Nov 5;4(1):vdac173. doi: 10.1093/noajnl/vdac173. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Authors

David J Cote^{1

2}, Rong Wang³, Libby M Morimoto⁴, Catherine Metayer⁴, Jessica Stempel⁵, Gabriel Zada¹, Xiaomei Ma³, Joseph L Wiemels²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
² Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
³ Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Abstract

Background: We evaluated the potential role of birth characteristics in the etiology of early-onset meningioma.

Methods: Leveraging a population-based linkage of California birth records (from 1978 to 2015) and cancer registry data (from 1988 to 2015), we identified 362 nonmalignant meningioma cases aged 0-37 years and selected 18 100 controls matched on year of birth. Cases and controls were compared with regard to birth characteristics, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) estimated from unconditional multivariable logistic regression models. We also conducted stratified analyses by race/ethnicity and age.

Results: Female sex (compared to male: OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.79; P < .01) and Black race (compared to White: OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.07; P = .04) were associated with higher risk of meningioma. Higher birth order (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81 to 0.99 per additional birth position; P = .04) was associated with a lower risk. No significant associations were observed between birthweight, gestational age, delivery mode, maternal age, or maternal education and meningioma risk. In the non-Latino White subgroup, higher birthweight was associated with a higher risk of meningioma (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.41 per 500 grams; P = .03), but this was not recapitulated in the Latino subgroup. In age-stratified analyses, female sex was a risk factor for those diagnosed at the age of 20-37 years but not among younger individuals.

Conclusions: In this large population-based study less prone to selection and recall bias, higher birth order was associated with a reduced risk of early-onset meningioma, while female sex and Black race were linked to an increased risk. There were also indications of differential associations by race/ethnicity and age of diagnosis.

Keywords: birth characteristics; birth order; birthweight; epidemiology; meningioma.