Preventive health behaviors and familial breast cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To examine medical and lifestyle preventive behaviors among women with varying levels of familial breast cancer risk.


METHODS
Using cross-sectional data from the Minnesota Breast Cancer Family Study, a historical cohort of 426 families, we compared medical (mammography adherence, antiestrogen use, and prophylactic surgery) and lifestyle (physical activity, smoking, alcohol, and diet) behaviors across three groups of cancer-free women ages 18 to 95 defined by their family history of breast cancer. Family history was classified as high-risk, moderate-risk, or average to low-risk depending on the number and degree of relationship of family members with breast cancer.


RESULTS
After adjusting for age and education, high-risk women were twice as likely to have ever used an antiestrogenic agent (9.0% versus 4.6% among moderate-risk and 4.1% among average to low-risk; P = 0.002). Among women ages <40, the high-risk group were more likely to have ever had a mammogram (82% versus 47% among moderate-risk and 35% among average to low-risk; P < 0.001). Average to low-risk women were the least likely to be current smokers and high-risk women may consume slightly fewer fruits and vegetables compared with the other groups, but there were no other differences in lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity and alcohol use.


CONCLUSIONS
Women with strong family histories of breast cancer are more likely to undertake medical but not lifestyle preventive behaviors.
Madlensky
Lisa
L
University of California San Diego Cancer Center, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0901, USA. lmadlensky@ucsd.edu
Vierkant
Robert A
RA
Vachon
Celine M
CM
Pankratz
V Shane
VS
Cerhan
James R
JR
Vadaparampil
Susan Thomas
ST
Sellers
Thomas A
TA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires