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Examining the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among overweight/obese African-American breast cancer survivors vs. matched non-cancer controls

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Abstract

Purpose

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is more predominant in overweight, obese and minority populations. This study examined the prevalence of MetS in an exclusively African-American (AA) cohort of breast cancer (BC) survivors; an underrepresented group in previous studies demonstrating negative BC outcomes disparities for females with MetS.

Methods

Using a case-control design, overweight/obese AA women with treated Stage I–IIIa BC were matched 1:1 on age, race, sex, and body mass index (BMI) category with non-cancer population controls (n = 444). Three of the following conditions were used to define MetS: HDL cholesterol <50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L), serum triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L), blood glucose ≥100 mg/dL (or on treatment), waist circumference ≥88 cm, or ≥130 mmHg systolic or ≥85 mmHg diastolic blood pressure (or on treatment). Matched-pairs analyses were conducted.

Results

For BC cases, most women had self-reported Stage I (n = 76) or Stage II (n = 91) disease and were 6.9 (±5.2) years post-diagnosis. MetS was significantly lower in BC survivors vs. their non-cancer population controls (43.2 vs. 51.4 %, respectively; p < 0.05). The diagnosis of MetS did not differ by BMI stratification. A lower prevalence of ≥2 risk factors (80.2 vs. 85.6 %, p < 0.05) was observed for all cases vs. controls.

Conclusions

While MetS occurred less frequently in our BC cases vs. non-cancer controls, our estimates are nearly two times those reported in other BC survivors, suggesting important racial/ethnic differences.

Implications for cancer survivors

The prognostic implications of MetS among AA BC survivors remain unknown and warrant further investigation.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the women who participated in the Moving Forward weight loss intervention for their commitment to this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago, Health Sciences Campus, 2160 South First Avenue, Building 120, Room 4527, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA

    Patricia Sheean

  2. Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc., One Takeda Parkway, Deerfield, IL, 60015, USA

    Huifang Liang

  3. Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Room 558, MC 275, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

    Linda Schiffer

  4. Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Room 558, MC 275, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

    Claudia Arroyo

  5. Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Melinda Stolley

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  1. Patricia Sheean
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia Sheean.

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Conflict of interests

The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose regarding the conduct and report of this work.

Funding

National Institute on Aging, Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation (P30AG022849); National Cancer Institute, Moving Forward (R01CA154406); National Cancer Institute, Cancer Education and Career Development Program (R25CA057699).

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Sheean, P., Liang, H., Schiffer, L. et al. Examining the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among overweight/obese African-American breast cancer survivors vs. matched non-cancer controls. J Cancer Surviv 11, 102–110 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-016-0566-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-016-0566-z

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