title: Eating Disorders and Breast Cancer.
abstract: Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect overall and reproductive health and may also affect breast cancer risk. We studied the association between self-reported eating disorders and breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort study.
  
  
  
  In 2003-2009, the Sister Study enrolled women ages 35-74 years who had a sister with breast cancer but had never had it themselves. Using data from 47,813 women, we estimated adjusted HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between eating disorders and invasive breast cancer over a median of 5.4 years of follow-up.
  
  
  
  Three percent (n = 1,569) of participants reported a history of an eating disorder. Compared with women who never had an eating disorder, women who reported eating disorders in the past had reduced breast cancer risk (HR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.42-0.92).
  
  
  
  In this large prospective, observational cohort study, we observed an inverse association between having a history of an eating disorder and invasive breast cancer.
  
  
  
  Historical eating disorders may be associated with a long-term reduction in breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(2); 206-11. ©2016 AACR.
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Katie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.|Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Denis R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Dale P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sandler
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. weinber2@niehs.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Clarice R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Weinberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology