Life course breast cancer risk factors and adult breast density (United Kingdom).
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether risk factors in childhood and early adulthood affect later mammographic breast density.


METHODS
Subjects were 628 women who attended a medical examination at the University of Glasgow Student Health Service (1948-1968), responded to a questionnaire (2001) and had a screening mammogram in Scotland (1989-2002). Mammograms (median age of 59 years) were classified using a six category classification (SCC) of breast density percent. Logistic regression was used to determine associations between risk factors and having a high-risk mammogram (>or = 25% dense).


RESULTS
In multi-variable analyses, high-risk mammograms were associated with parity (adjusted odds ratio (OR) per child: 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61-0.99)), age at first birth, OR per year: 1.05 (0.99-1.11), smoking at university, OR smokers versus non-smokers: 0.58 (0.36-0.92) and body mass index (BMI) while at university, OR per 1 kg/m2 0.75 (0.69-0.82). No associations with SCC were found for age at menarche, birth weight, oral contraceptive (OC) use, height, leg length or exercise at age 20.


CONCLUSIONS
We confirm previous findings that breast density is affected by reproductive events and some anthropometric measures, however most of the risk factors acting throughout the life course which we examined were not closely related to adult breast density.
Jeffreys
Mona
M
Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University, Wellington Campus, Private Box 756, Wellington, New Zealand. m.jeffreys@massey.ac.nz
Warren
Ruth
R
Gunnell
David
D
McCarron
Peter
P
Smith
George Davey
GD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001940:Breast / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010298:Parity; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology