title: Reproductive risk factors associated with breast cancer in women in Bangui: a case-control study.
abstract: Breast cancer (breast Ca) is recognised as a major public health problem in the world. Data on reproductive factors associated with breast Ca in the Central African Republic (CAR) is very limited. This study aimed to identify reproductive variables as risk factors for breast Ca in CAR women.
  
  
  
  A case-control study was conducted among 174 cases of breast Ca confirmed at the Pathology Unit of the National Laboratory in Bangui between 2003 and 2015 and 348 age-matched controls. Data collection tools included a questionnaire, interviews and a review of medical records of patients. Data were analysed using SPSS software version 20. Odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of developing breast Ca were obtained using unconditional logistic regression.
  
  
  
  In total, 522 women with a mean age of 45.8 (SD = 13.4) years were enrolled. Women with breast Ca were more likely to have attained little or no education (AOR = 11.23, CI: 4.65-27.14 and AOR = 2.40, CI: 1.15-4.99), to be married (AOR = 2.09, CI: 1.18-3.71), to have had an abortion (AOR = 5.41, CI: 3.47-8.44), and to be nulliparous (AOR = 1.98, CI: 1.12-3.49). Decreased odds of breast Ca were associated with being employed (AOR = 0.32, CI: 0.19-0.56), living in urban areas (AOR = 0.16, CI: 0.07-0.37), late menarche (AOR = 0.18, CI: 0.07-0.44), regular menstrual cycles (AOR = 0.44, CI: 0.23-0.81), term pregnancy (AOR = 0.26, CI: 0.13-0.50) and hormonal contraceptive use (AOR = 0.62, CI: 0.41-0.93).
  
  
  
  Breast Ca risk factors in CAR did not appear to be significantly different from that observed in other populations. This study highlighted the risk factors of breast Ca in women living in Bangui to inform appropriate control measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.|National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Augustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balekouzou
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. pingyin2000@126.com.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Hospital Laboratory Friendship, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Christian Maucler
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pamatika
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Public Health, Centre Medical d'Arrondissement de Bare, Nkongsamba, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Cavin Epie
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Bekolo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bangui, Avenue of the Martyrs, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Sylvain Wilfrid
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Nambei
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Marceline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Djeintote
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Komlan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kota
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Christian Diamont
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Mossoro-Kpinde
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Minghui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Mingming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jianyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Shaojun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhongyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Boniface
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koffi
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002488:Central African Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D012042:Registries; D012098:Reproduction; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Bangui; Breast cancer; Central African Republic; Reproductive factors; Women