Physical Activity Is Associated with Malignant and Benign Breast Diseases in Low-Income Brazilian Women

Abstract

We compared the relationships among percentage of body fat (%BF) and physical activity with breast cancer (BC) and benign breast diseases (BBD) in low-income Brazilian women. A case-control study including 106 incident BC cases, 178 incident BBD cases, and 181 control women recruited from a public hospital-based screening center was conducted. Logistic regression models showed that sedentary women have a higher odds of developing BC in the age adjusted model [odds ratio (OR) = 2.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.43-3.99]. After adjusting for hormonal-related risk factors and family history of breast cancer (OR = 2.94, 95% CI 1.50-5.79) and also for the % BF (OR = 2.71, 95% CI 1.36-5.37) the odds remained high. Independent of the adjustments made, %BF did not affect the odds for developing BC. When the same models were tested for women with BBD, we found a significant association with sedentary lifestyle in all models tested, with an OR = 3.03 (95% CI 1.69-5.42) in the fully adjusted model. In the same way, in the fully adjusted model %BF was significantly associated to risk for BBD (OR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.30-0.98). Similar to results found in other populations, our data suggest that physical activity is an important, independent protective factor for the risk of developing BC and BBD in low-income women from an admixed population.

Lifestyle and vitamin D dosage in women with breast cancer

“…The patients provided information about lifestyle, as alcohol use, smoking behavior and physical activity Those women who consumed at least one dose (10 g of alcohol) of any alcoholic beverage daily or more than 3 days a week were considered alcoholics (12,16). Those who reported smoking at least one cigarette per day, regardless the time of use, were considered smokers (17).…”

“…A questionnaire previously validated by Pena et al (12) was applied to the studied population to characterize the sample with regards to socioeconomic issues, medical history (such as diabetes), lifestyle, and food consumption.…”

“…The waist and hip circumferences were also measured and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated (12,15).…”

“…Those who reported smoking at least one cigarette per day, regardless the time of use, were considered smokers (17). The practice of physical activity was assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) (18), short version, and the women were classified as sedentary, low active, or active (12) (Fig. 1).…”

“…Those women who accepted signed the free and clarified consent term. The study followed the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the National Committee of Ethics in research (protocol number: 1889/2005) (12,13).…”