title: Obesity is associated with breast cancer in African-American women but not Hispanic women in South Los Angeles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is considered a risk factor for breast cancer. Modifying life styles that reduce obesity offers the potential for prevention and improved outcomes from cancer. The effects of obesity and breast cancer among African-American women and Hispanic women have been explored in a limited number of studies. The objective of the current study was to investigate the association of obesity with breast cancer in a minority cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study of 471 African-American and Hispanic women with and without breast cancer in South Los Angeles. Data regarding body mass index (BMI) and clinical factors were obtained by medical record abstraction. Data were assessed using logistic regression with multivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess disease-free survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with breast cancer were more likely to be obese (BMI >30 kg/m(2)) than women without breast cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; P = .01). There was a significant association of being overweight or obese and breast cancer among postmenopausal women (OR, 2.3 [P = .03] and 2.9 [P < .01], respectively). The association between obesity and breast cancer was significant only among African-American women (OR, 2.70; P < .01) and was especially significant among postmenopausal African-American women (OR, 4.8; P < .01). There was a borderline significant association between obesity and later disease stage at diagnosis (P = .06). An association also was observed between higher BMI (for cutoff points of both 30 kg/m(2) and 28 kg/m(2)) and poorer disease-free survival (P = .045 and P = .019, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current data suggested an association between obesity and breast cancer, especially among postmenopausal women and most significantly in the African-American cohort.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Research and Training, Center to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities, Department of Internal Medicine, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California 90059, USA.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarkissyan
authors.forename: Yanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jaydutt V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Vadgama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D015897:Comorbidity; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*