New study reveals biggest risk factor for colon cancer in under-35s – and it will shock you

Colon cancer cases are on the rise among young people, alarming experts and leaving doctors scrambling for answers as to why.

Now, a study published by a team of international researchers in the journal Neoplasia provides new data.

The study analyzed “very early-wave color cancellations”—defined as a diagnosis before age 35—and found three risk factors.

A diet deficient in calcium was found to be the highest risk factor, linked to approximately one in five deaths from colon cancer in very young people.

Alcohol consumption was determined to be the second greatest risk factor, while obesity was determined to be the third.

Incidentally, a study published earlier this month suggested a link between consuming a large glass of milk per day with a decreased risk of colon cancer in women specifically.

For the study, the team used data from the Global Burden of Disease and found that global cases of colon cancer in people under 35 almost doubled between 1990 and 2019 from 21,874 to 41,545.

In those under 35, the disease also appeared to disproportionately affect men. In 2019, data showed that there were 25,432 cases among men while there were only 16,113 cases among women.

Global deaths also rose during that time period analyzed from 11,445 to 15,486, according to the study, which linked a diet low in dairy and calcium, alcohol use and a high body mass index as “major contributors to deaths”.

Surprisingly, lack of exercise and significant smoking had “less contribution to deaths”.

Experts have also examined environmental triggers, ultra-processed foods or certain diets as causes of colon cancer, which is diagnosed in 107,320 Americans each year.

While it is usually considered to disproportionately affect older populations, colon cancer — which causes rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, weight loss, anemia and fatigue — has increased in all age groups.

“It’s very alarming for all of us,’ Dr. Coral Olazagasti, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Oncology at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, previously told the Post.

“In the past, you would think that cancer was a disease of the elderly population. But now we are seeing trends in recent years of people being diagnosed with cancer earlier and earlier.”