Reproductive factors and breast cancer risk in Palestine: A case control study

Abstract

Background: Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late age at rst full-term pregnancy are linked to a modest increase in the risk of developing breast cancer (breast ca). Multiparity is related to an increased risk but multiple full-term pregnancies decrease the risk of breast cancers. This study aims to investigate the reproductive determinants of breast cancer among women in the West Bank of Palestine. Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a case-control study; 237 registered cases and 237 controls aged 40 years old or more. A multivariate analysis model was used to adjust for the association between women's reproductive factors and breast ca risk. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% con dence interval (95% CI) are reported. This study was approved by Al Quds University Ethical Research Committee and the Ministry of Health research unit. All women provided written informed consent.Results: In the multivariate analysis, having menarche after 13 years of age, using oral contraceptives for more than two months, using hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and getting pregnant at an early age (≤18 years) signi cantly doubled the risk for breast ca. Women who used hormonal contraceptives were signi cantly associated with higher odds of having breast ca 6.37 compared to those who did not use them (p <0.05). Similarly, nulliparous women showed 6 times the odds of breast ca be compared with women with one or more children (p = 0.005). Also, the mother's educational level; parental consanguinity marriage; and positive family history of breast ca be strong determinants for breast ca in this study.Conclusions: This study provides clear evidence of the role of using oral contraceptives and hormonal replacement therapy on women's breasts ca. Therefore, reproductive hormones use, whether as a birth control tool or in therapy, must be rationalized. More in-depth investigations are needed to identify the protective role of having children and breastfeeding practices on breast ca protection. Special attention should be considered for the special social and cultural factors related to sexual and reproductive issues among women in Palestine Background Breast cancer (breast ca) is the main common cause of cancer mortality among women in the world [1].Breast cancer is a multi-factorial type of cancer. Being genetically predisposed or having a family history of rst degree relative with breast ca was shown to increase the cancer incidence [2][3][4][5][6]. Also, parental marriage, which is marriage from a relative, was shown to increase the risk too [7,8]. Among women aged 40 years or more, breast ca is related to an increased risk [9,10]. Modi able risk factors related to energy balance-such as obesity, physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, and poor dietary patterns were shown also to be related to breast cancer risk [6,[11][12][13][14][15].The effect of reproductive factors strongly supports a hormonal role in its aetiology [16][17][18][19]. Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late ag...

A study of risk factors for breast cancer in Al-Anbar province: a case- control study

“…Nulliparity is linked to a two-fold increased risk compared to parous patients (p=0.02), aligning with existing studies emphasizing the higher risk for nulliparous women [34]. Unmarried women aged 40-54 face a 4-5 times higher risk of breast cancer compared to married counterparts, as indicated by a study in India [35]. Additionally, the study underscores a protective effect with a higher number of live births (OR=0.8, CI=0.30-2.11), and a significant risk reduction for women with 7 or more births (OR=0.4, CI=0.20-0.65, P=0.002).…”

The Relationship between Reproductive Factors and Risk of Breast Cancer among Pre –Menopausal Women

“…Table ( 3) clarifies that, majority 84% of the studied women had menarche at age from (12)(13)(14), while only 8% had menarche at age < 12 and >14. 70% of them had a regular menstrual cycle with moderate amount of bleeding.…”

Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women of Reproductive Age: A Meta-Analysis

“…Most of the studies were conducted in Western Asia (n = 8, 36.36%) [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32], followed by five in North Europe [33][34][35][36][37], three in East Asia [38][39][40], two in África [41,42], two in the USA [43,44], and two in Indonesia [45,46] but none in Latin America. However, 98% of the population studied was included in the European studies, with the largest population being included in the Danish prospective cohort study that involved 1,797,932 women [35].…”