title: Weight Fluctuation and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate if weight fluctuation is an independent risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer (PBC) among women who gained weight in adult years.
  
  
  METHODS
  NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study (NHEFS) database was used in the study. Women that were cancers-free at enrollment and diagnosed for the first time with breast cancer at age 50 or greater were considered cases. Controls were chosen from the subset of cancers-free women and matched to cases by years of follow-up and status of body mass index (BMI) at 25 years of age. Weight fluctuation was measured by the root-mean-square-error (RMSE) from a simple linear regression model for each woman with their body mass index (BMI) regressed on age (started at 25 years) while women with the positive slope from this regression were defined as weight gainers. Data were analyzed using conditional logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 158 women were included into the study. The conditional logistic regression adjusted for weight gain demonstrated positive association between weight fluctuation in adult years and postmenopausal breast cancers (odds ratio/OR = 1.67; 95% confidence interval/CI: 1.06-2.66).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data suggested that long-term weight fluctuation was significant risk factor for PBC among women who gained weight in adult years. This finding underscores the importance of maintaining lost weight and avoiding weight fluctuation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Komaroff
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain; D015431:Weight Loss