title: Correlates of high-density mammographic parenchymal patterns by menopausal status in a rural population in Northern Greece.
abstract: Reproductive factors affect breast cancer risk, but less is known of their associations with mammographic density and whether these differ by menopausal status. We report on a cross-sectional study of 1946 pre- and 3047 post-menopausal women who joined a breast screening programme in Northern Greece during 1993-1997. The odds of having a high-density Wolfe pattern (P2/DY) was inversely associated with age (P for linear trend <0.001) in both pre- and post-menopausal women and, for post-menopausal women, with years since menopause (P < 0.001). The odds of a P2/DY pattern declined with higher parity (P < 0.001) and younger age at first pregnancy (P = 0.05) in both pre- and post-menopausal women. They also decreased with the duration of breast-feeding in pre-menopausal women (P = 0.03 in pre- and P = 0.69 in post-menopausal women; test for interaction with menopausal status: P = 0.07). Age at menarche, age at menopause and the number of miscarriages/abortions were not associated with mammographic density. Age at first pregnancy and parity were strong correlates of mammographic density in pre- and post-menopausal women while duration of breast-feeding appeared to be particularly important in pre-menopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riza
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: dos Santos Silva
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Stavola
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Efi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karadedou-Zafiriadou
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Linos
authors.forename: Dionysios-Dennis
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Remoundos
authors.forename: Athena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Linos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012423:Rural Health