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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Older Women Skipping Hormone Therapy and Gaining
Weight Increase Breast Cancer Risk
Maintaining weight throughout adulthood may be
means of breast cancer prevention
 Oct. 23, 2007 - Women who do not take hormone
therapy after menopause may have an increased risk for breast cancer if
they have gained weight throughout adulthood rather than maintaining a
stable weight, according to a report in the October 22 issue of Archives
of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Obesity is known to be a risk factor for developing
breast cancer after menopause, according to earlier studies. Estrogens
may accumulate in fat tissue, potentially initiating or promoting the
growth of cancerous cells in the breast.
Data from 99,039 postmenopausal women who were part
of the National Institutes of HealthAARP Diet and Health Study was
analyzed by Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute,
Bethesda, Md., and colleagues.
In 1996, the women reported their current body
measurements and weight, plus their weight at ages 18, 35 and 50. Body
mass index (BMI) was used to classify the women as underweight, normal
weight, overweight or obese.
Through 2000, 2,111 of the women developed breast
cancer.
In women who did not take hormone therapy, gaining
weight in the early reproductive years (age 18 to 35), late reproductive
years (age 35 to 50), perimenopausal and postmenopausal years (age 50 to
the current age) and throughout adulthood (age 18 to the current age)
were each associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer
compared with maintaining a stable weight during those periods.
Women who were not obese or overweight at age 18
but were at ages 35 and 50 had 1.4 times the risk of developing breast
cancer compared with women who maintained a normal weight. Those who
were overweight or obese at ages 18, 35 and 50 had no increased risk.
Women who lost weight had the same breast cancer
risk as those whose weight remained stable.
Because weight gain during adulthood mainly
reflects the deposition of fat mass rather than lean body mass, weight
gain potentially represents age-related metabolic change that may be
important in breast cancer development, the authors write.
These findings may reinforce public health
recommendations for the maintenance of a healthy weight throughout
adulthood as a means of breast cancer prevention.
Editor's Note: This research was supported by the
Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health,
National Cancer Institute.
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