Age at Menarche and Late Adolescent Adiposity Associated with Mammographic Density on Processed Digital Mammograms in 24,840 Women

Background: High mammographic density is strongly associated with increased breast cancer risk. Some, but not all, risk factors for breast cancer are also associated with higher mammographic density.

Methods: The study cohort (N = 24,840) was drawn from the Research Program in Genes, Environment and Health of Kaiser Permanente Northern California and included non-Hispanic white females ages 40 to 74 years with a full-field digital mammogram (FFDM). Percent density (PD) and dense area (DA) were measured by a radiological technologist using Cumulus. The association of age at menarche and late adolescent body mass index (BMI) with PD and DA were modeled using linear regression adjusted for confounders.

Results: Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI were negatively correlated. Age at menarche was positively associated with PD (P value for trend <0.0001) and DA (P value for trend <0.0001) in fully adjusted models. Compared with the reference category of ages 12 to 13 years at menarche, menarche at age >16 years was associated with an increase in PD of 1.47% (95% CI, 0.69–2.25) and an increase in DA of 1.59 cm² (95% CI, 0.48–2.70). Late adolescent BMI was inversely associated with PD (P < 0.0001) and DA (P < 0.0001) in fully adjusted models.

Conclusions: Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI are both associated with Cumulus measures of mammographic density on processed FFDM images.

Impact: Age at menarche and late adolescent BMI may act through different pathways. The long-term effects of age at menarche on cancer risk may be mediated through factors besides mammographic density. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(9); 1450–8. ©2017 AACR.

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