title: Abuse victimization and risk of breast cancer in the Black Women's Health Study [corrected].
abstract: Few studies have examined the relation between abuse victimization and breast cancer, and results have been inconclusive. Using data from 35,728 participants in the Black Women's Health Study, we conducted multivariable Cox regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of abuse across the life span (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood) with breast cancer. Incident breast cancer diagnoses were reported during 1995-2009, and abuse histories were reported in 2005. No associations were found between abuse victimization in either childhood or adolescence and breast cancer. We found a weak positive association between abuse in adulthood and breast cancer (IRR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.03-1.34). IRRs for physical abuse only, sexual abuse only, and both physical and sexual abuse in adulthood, relative to no abuse, were 1.28 (95% CI = 1.09-1.49), 0.96 (95% CI = 0.76-1.20), and 1.22 (95% CI = 1.00-1.49), respectively. IRRs for low, intermediate, and high frequencies of physical abuse in adulthood, relative to no abuse, were 1.28 (95% CI = 1.07-1.52), 1.37 (95% CI = 1.04-1.79), and 1.24 (95% CI = 0.95-1.62), respectively. Our data suggest an increased risk of breast cancer among African-American women who reported physical abuse in adulthood, but there was little evidence of a dose-response relation. These results require confirmation in other studies.
authors.affiliation: Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. lwise@bu.edu
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: Julie R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Boggs
authors.forename: Lucile L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Adams-Campbell
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American