Age at Menarche and Late Adolescent Adiposity Associated with Mammographic Density on Processed Digital Mammograms in 24,840 Women

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention Vol. 26; no. 9; pp. 1450 - 1458
• Main Authors: Alexeeff, Stacey E, Odo, Nnaemeka U, Lipson, Jafi A, Achacoso, Ninah, Rothstein, Joseph H, Yaffe, Martin J, Liang, Rhea Y, Acton, Luana, McGuire, Valerie, Whittemore, Alice S, Rubin, Daniel L, Sieh, Weiva, Habel, Laurel A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for Cancer Research, Inc 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Adiposity - physiology; Age; Age factors; Body mass; Body mass index; Breast - pathology; Breast cancer; Cohort Studies; Density; Female; Females; Health risks; Humans; Long-term effects; Mammography; Mammography - methods; Menarche; Menarche - physiology; Middle Aged; Risk factors
• ISSN: 1055-9965; 1538-7755
• DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-0264

High mammographic density is strongly associated with increased breast cancer risk. Some, but not all, risk factors for breast cancer are also associated with higher mammographic density. The study cohort ( = 24,840) was drawn from the Research Program in Genes, Environment and Health of Kaiser Permanente Northern California and included non-Hispanic white females ages 40 to 74 years with a full-field digital mammogram (FFDM). Percent density (PD) and dense area (DA) were measured by a radiological technologist using Cumulus. The association of age at menarche and late adolescent body mass index (BMI) with PD and DA were modeled using linear regression adjusted for confounders. Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI were negatively correlated. Age at menarche was positively associated with PD ( value for trend <0.0001) and DA ( value for trend <0.0001) in fully adjusted models. Compared with the reference category of ages 12 to 13 years at menarche, menarche at age >16 years was associated with an increase in PD of 1.47% (95% CI, 0.69-2.25) and an increase in DA of 1.59 cm (95% CI, 0.48-2.70). Late adolescent BMI was inversely associated with PD ( < 0.0001) and DA ( < 0.0001) in fully adjusted models. Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI are both associated with Cumulus measures of mammographic density on processed FFDM images. Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI may act through different pathways. The long-term effects of age at menarche on cancer risk may be mediated through factors besides mammographic density. .