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Lifetime physical activity and risk of breast cancer in pre-and post-menopausal women

  • Epidemiology
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Abstract

To investigate the association between different types of physical activity (PA) and breast cancer. A case–control study of breast cancer was conducted in Western Australia from 2009 to 2011, in which 1205 women with breast cancer and 1789 frequency age-matched breast cancer-free control women were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about lifetime and age-period recreational, household, occupational and transport physical activities. Detailed questions about demographic characteristics, and relevant reproductive, medical and lifestyle factors were also included. Logistic regression and restrictive cubic spline analyses were applied to investigate the association and dose–response relationship between PA and breast cancer risk. Subgroup analysis was performed regarding menopausal status. We found non-linear dose–response associations between PA and risk of breast cancer. Overall, 95–130 MET-hours/week of total lifetime PA was associated with the lowest breast cancer risk. The effects were stronger among post-menopausal women. We also found that the medium amounts of recreational PA (up to 21 MET-hours/week) were associated with lower breast cancer risk among post-menopausal women. Further analysis on the intensity of recreational PA demonstrated different dose–response associations between moderate- and vigorous-intensity recreational PA and breast cancer risk. We found that PA was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women, but not in a linear fashion. Recreational PA of different intensities may have different dose–response associations with risk of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the many West Australian women who participated in the study, Troy Sadkowsky for his role as data scientist throughout the BCEES project and the members of the BCEES team (Allyson Thomson, Ann D’Orsogna, Terry Slevin, Jen Girschik and Pierra Rogers). The Breast Cancer Environment and Employment Study was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (NHMRC) Project Grant #572530 and by a grant from the Cancer Council Western Australia (CCWA). Lin Fritschi is supported by fellowships from the NHMRC and CCWA. Terry Boyle is supported by an Early Career Fellowship from the NHMRC (#1072266), a Fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (#300068), a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (#5553), and an Honorary Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from The University of British Columbia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, Australia

    Si Si & Lin Fritschi

  2. Cancer Control Research, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Terry Boyle

  3. School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Terry Boyle

  4. Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Terry Boyle

  5. School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Jane Heyworth

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Deborah C. Glass

  7. School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Christobel Saunders

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Correspondence to Si Si.

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Si, S., Boyle, T., Heyworth, J. et al. Lifetime physical activity and risk of breast cancer in pre-and post-menopausal women. Breast Cancer Res Treat 152, 449–462 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-015-3489-x

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