title: The metabolic syndrome and mammographic breast density in a racially diverse and predominantly immigrant sample of women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The metabolic syndrome [MetS, clustering of elevated blood pressure, triglycerides and glucose, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), abdominal obesity] has been associated with increased breast cancer risk, but less is known about its association with mammographic breast density, a strong risk factor for breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected data on risk factors, body size, and blood pressure via in-person interviews and examinations and measured glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-C from dried blood spots from women recruited through a mammography screening clinic (n = 373; 68 % Hispanic, 17 % African-American, 63 % foreign born). We performed linear regression models to examine the associations of each MetS component and the MetS cluster (≥3 components) with percent density and dense breast area, measured using a computer-assisted technique and Cumulus software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About 45 % of women had the MetS, with the prevalence of the individual components ranging from 68 % for abdominal obesity to 33 % for elevated triglycerides. The prevalence of the MetS increased with higher body mass index (BMI) and postmenopausal status, but did not vary substantially by ethnicity, immigrant generational status, parity, age at menarche, or alcohol consumption. Low HDL-C (<50 mg/dL), but not the MetS cluster or the other MetS components, was associated with larger dense breast area after adjusting for age, BMI, fasting time, and educational attainment (β = 8.77, 95 % CI 2.39, 15.14). The MetS and its individual components were not associated with BMI-adjusted percent density.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HDL-C alone may have an influence on dense breast tissue that is independent of BMI, and may be in the same direction as its association with breast cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA. pt140@columbia.edu.|Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. pt140@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tehranifar
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Angeline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Protacio
authors.affiliation: Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.|Division of Academics, Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA.|Avon Foundation Breast Imaging Center-New York Presbyterian, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Desperito
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oskar
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Engmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA.|Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Terry
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001940:Breast / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008327:Mammography; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: Breast cancer; Glucose; HDL-cholesterol; Hispanic; Hypertension; Immigrants; Mammographic breast density; Metabolic syndrome; Triglycerides; Waist circumference