Adolescent intake of animal fat and red meat in relation to premenopausal mammographic density

Abstract

Purpose Adolescence is hypothesized to be a time period of particular susceptibility to breast cancer risk factors. Red meat and fat intake during high school was positively associated with risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women in the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII). High mammographic density is a strong predictor of breast cancer risk but there is limited research on dietary factors associated with breast density. To test the hypothesis that high intake of animal fat or red meat during adolescence is associated with mammographic density, we analyzed data from premenopausal women in the NHSII. Methods Participants recalled adolescent diet on a high school food frequency questionnaire. We assessed absolute and percent mammographic density on digitized analog film mammograms for 687 premenopausal women with no history of cancer. We used generalized linear regression to quantify associations of adolescent animal fat and red meat intake with mammographic density, adjusting for age, body mass index, and other predictors of mammographic density. Results Adolescent animal fat intake was significantly positively associated with premenopausal mammographic density, with a mean percent density of 39.2% in the lowest quartile of adolescent animal fat intake vs. 43.1% in the highest quartile (p-trend: 0.03). A non-significant positive association was also observed for adolescent red meat intake (p-trend: 0.14). Conclusions These findings suggest that higher adolescent animal fat intake is weakly associated with percent mammographic density in premenopausal women.

Red and processed meat intake and cancer risk: Results from the prospective NutriNet‐Santé cohort study

“…The two prospective studies published after this meta-analysis also suggest direct associations between red meat intake and post-menopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP cohort 16 and increased breast density. 17 In a previous study performed on the SU.VI.MAX cohort, we did not observe statistically significant relationships between red meat and breast cancer risk. However, red meat intakes in women of the SU.VI.MAX cohort were relatively low (fourth quartile <500 g/week), while they were higher in the present NutriNet-Sant e cohort, where 19.60% exceeded 500 g of red meat per week.…”

“…based on 12 cohort studies for red meat and 15 cohort studies for processed meat, both showing positive associations with breast cancer risk. The two prospective studies published after this meta‐analysis also suggest direct associations between red meat intake and post‐menopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH‐AARP cohort and increased breast density . In a previous study performed on the SU.VI.MAX cohort, we did not observe statistically significant relationships between red meat and breast cancer risk.…”

“…Inoue‐Cho et al . observed an increased risk of breast cancer in post‐menopausal women with high consumption of red or processed meat; and Bertrand et al . showed increased breast density in pre‐menopausal women associated with high consumption of red meat.…”

“…14,15 Since the publication of these meta-analyses, two prospective cohort studies were published. Inoue-Cho et al 16 observed an increased risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women with high consumption of red or processed meat; and Bertrand et al 17 showed increased breast density in pre-menopausal women associated with high consumption of red meat. In 2014, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) observed null results for their meta-analyses of the associations between red and processed meat and prostate cancer risk, 18 consistent with a meta-analysis published in 2015.…”

Obesity, Dietary Factors, Nutrition, and Breast Cancer Risk

“…Adolescence has been hypothesized to be a stage of life that is particularly susceptible to breast cancer risk factors in women. In the second phase of the Nurses’ Health study (NHSII) [156, 157], red meat and fat intake during adolescence were both positively linked to the risk of breast cancer among pre-menopausal women. In contrast, no significant associations were identified between dietary carbohydrate and fiber intake during adolescence and breast cancer risk [158].…”