Death of a husband or marital divorce related to risk of breast cancer in middle-aged women. A nested case-control study among Norwegian women born 1935-1954.
A topic of general interest is whether important life changes may play a role in the onset of cancer. The hypothesis of this study was that death of a husband or marital divorce, is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The study included 4491 incident breast cancer cases and 44,910 controls, matched on age, in a population-based nested case-control study, among Norwegian women born between 1935 and 1954. The risk of breast cancer among widowed compared to married women showed an odds ratio (OR) of 1.13 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94-1.36], after adjusting for age at first birth and parity. For divorced women the analogous OR was 0.83 (95% CI 0.75-0.92), after adjusting for age at first birth, parity and place of residence. Thus, the results did not show any clear evidence that death of a husband or marital divorce was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
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Kvikstad
L J
LJ
Vatten
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S
Tretli
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S
Kvinnsland
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001601:Bereavement; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004243:Divorce; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors