Early menarche linked to higher risk of breast cancer
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This is not news. But a study in the Nov 20, 2010 issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment suggests again that girls who experience menarche early are at higher risk of developing breast cancer in their adulthood.
The study showed late age at menarche was associated with a 26 percent reduced risk of developing breast cancer in premenopausal women.
"Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. Studies in industrialised countries identified age at menarche, age at first full-term pregnancy, and lactation as determining factors in the aetiology of breast cancer," the authors wrote in their report.
For the current case-control study, Jordan I. and colleagues Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Giessen, Germany analyzed data from 115 female breast cancer patients and 230 age- and district-matched women clinically free of breast cancer in Northern Tanzania.
The average age for the subjects in both groups was 50 years, ranging from 26 to 85 years and the average body mass index at age 20 was 21 kg/m(2). The average life-long lactation of the cases was 96 months, compared to 108 months for the controls.
A high BMI at age 20 was correlated with a 31 percent increased risk of breast cancer, compared to those who had a low BMI, the researchers found.
Among premenopausal women, those who had a high BMI were 41 percent more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared with those who had a low BMI. Among postmenopausal women, the association was similar and those who had a high BMI were at 38 percent increased risk.
The study found prolonged lactation and late age at menarche were both associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women.
Early menarche has been linked to late menopause. Both together would extend a woman's exposure to high levels of estrogen - a cancer-promoting hormone for up to 15 or more years.
A girl's diet is known to have an impact on the timing of menarche and puberty. High intake of meat, dairy products and refined sugar and low intake of plant-foods can boost a girl's growth.
Breast cancer is expected in one in every 7 American women in their lifetime. The disease is diagnosed in more than 175,000 women each year in the U.S. and kills about 50,000 annually in the country.
David Liu
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