WEDNESDAY, Dec. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The risk for breast cancer is increased with weight gain after age 35 years, according to a research letter recently published in Cancer Biology & Medicine.
Katherine De la Torre, from the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, and colleagues conducted a prospective study to examine the association between weight change throughout distinct lifetime periods and breast cancer risk stratified by menopausal status. A total of 73,192 Korean women (aged 40 to 69 years) were prospectively followed during a median follow-up of 9.2 years.
The researchers found 790 new breast cancer cases among 66,870 women with information on weight at 35 years of age. Of these women, 10.72, 32.68, and 35.92 percent had weight loss, maintained stable weight, and gained >5.0 kg, respectively. Compared with women with stable weight, those who gained >10 kg after 35 years of age had an increased risk for breast cancer (hazard ratio, 1.41). Among premenopausal women, gaining 5 to 9.9 kg and ≥10 kg after 35 years of age increased the risk for breast cancer (hazard ratios, 1.89 and 2.23, respectively), with a dose-response effect. Women who gained >0.75 kg per year after age 35 years had an increased risk for breast cancer when a linear weight increment was assumed (hazard ratio, 1.35), but there were no associations based on menopausal status.
“Our research points to the critical period after age 35 as a potential window for weight management interventions aimed at breast cancer prevention,” lead author Daehee Kang, M.D., Ph.D., also from Seoul National University Hospital, said in a statement.
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