Associations of age at diagnosis of breast cancer with incident myocardial infarction and heart failure: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundThe associations of age at breast cancer onset with incident myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure (HF) remain unexamined. Addressing this problem could promote understanding of the cardiovascular impact of breast cancer.MethodsData were from the UK Biobank. Information on diagnosis of breast cancer, MI and HF were collected at baseline and follow-ups (median=12.8 years). Propensity score matching method and Cox proportional hazards models were employed.ResultsA total of 251,277 female participants (mean age: 56.8±8.0 years), of whom 16,241 had breast cancer, were included. Among participants with breast cancer, younger onset age (per 10-year decrease) was significantly associated with elevated risks of MI (HR=1.36, 95%CI: 1.19 to 1.56,P<0.001) and HF (HR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.18 to 1.46,P<0.001). After propensity score matching, breast cancer patients with younger onset age had significantly higher risks of MI and HF than healthy controls.ConclusionYounger onset age of breast cancer was associated with higher risks of incident MI and HF, underscoring the necessity to pay additional attention to the cardiovascular health of breast cancer patients diagnosed at younger age to conduct timely intervention to attenuate the subsequent risks of incident cardiovascular diseases.