Physical Activity and Change in Mammographic Density: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: One potential mechanism by which physical activity may protect against breast cancer is by decreasing mammographic density. Percent mammographic density, the proportion of dense breast tissue area to total breast area, declines with age and is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. The authors hypothesized that women who were more physically active would have a greater decline in percent mammographic density with age, compared with less physically active women. The authors tested this hypothesis using longitudinal data (1996-2004) from 722 participants in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic cohort of women who were pre- and early perimenopausal at baseline, with multivariable, repeated-measures linear regression analyses. During an average of 5.6 years, the mean annual decline in percent mammographic density was 1.1% (standard deviation = 0.1). A 1-unit increase in total physical activity score was associated with a weaker annual decline in percent mammographic density by 0.09% (standard error = 0.03; P = 0.01). Physical activity was inversely associated with the change in nondense breast area (P < 0.01) and not associated with the change in dense breast area (P = 0.17). Study results do not support the hypothesis that physical activity reduces breast cancer through a mechanism that includes reduced mammographic density.
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwq025
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Colorado State University, University of Pittsburgh, Rush University, New England Research Institutes, National Institutes of Health, Genentech, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Davis, National Institute on Aging, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, Office of Research on Women's Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Awards: G1078949291, G1395245948, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: UCLA Site, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Chicago site, G1650445419, MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION IN BLACK AND WHITE WOMEN, G2069832255, G240534699, G2701036747, G2853426343, G2886598935, G2899798242, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Coordinating Center, G3337569173, G3862244033, G4002206572, G4088562605, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Central Laboratory, GYNECOLOGIC IMPACT OF THE MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION, G4492651742, G4847607846, G495529283, G5212787517, G5481793173, G6138161980, G6356525961, G6423459859, G6454223305, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN V): Michigan Site, G6881890559, G7076164640, G711645435, G7265740541, G733855919, G8334913947, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation(SWAN) V: Pittsburgh, G8865318642, G8907596937, G988252460
OpenAlex ID: W2101636797