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The metabolic syndrome and mammographic breast density in a racially diverse and predominantly immigrant sample of women

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Abstract

Purpose

The metabolic syndrome [MetS, clustering of elevated blood pressure, triglycerides and glucose, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), abdominal obesity] has been associated with increased breast cancer risk, but less is known about its association with mammographic breast density, a strong risk factor for breast cancer.

Methods

We collected data on risk factors, body size, and blood pressure via in-person interviews and examinations and measured glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-C from dried blood spots from women recruited through a mammography screening clinic (n = 373; 68 % Hispanic, 17 % African-American, 63 % foreign born). We performed linear regression models to examine the associations of each MetS component and the MetS cluster (≥3 components) with percent density and dense breast area, measured using a computer-assisted technique and Cumulus software.

Results

About 45 % of women had the MetS, with the prevalence of the individual components ranging from 68 % for abdominal obesity to 33 % for elevated triglycerides. The prevalence of the MetS increased with higher body mass index (BMI) and postmenopausal status, but did not vary substantially by ethnicity, immigrant generational status, parity, age at menarche, or alcohol consumption. Low HDL-C (<50 mg/dL), but not the MetS cluster or the other MetS components, was associated with larger dense breast area after adjusting for age, BMI, fasting time, and educational attainment (β = 8.77, 95 % CI 2.39, 15.14). The MetS and its individual components were not associated with BMI-adjusted percent density.

Conclusions

HDL-C alone may have an influence on dense breast tissue that is independent of BMI, and may be in the same direction as its association with breast cancer risk.

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Abbreviations

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by grants from the Susan G. Komen Foundation [KG110331] and the National Cancer Institute [K07 CA151777]. We thank the study participants for contributing data to this research. We also thank Chidera Agu, Rachel Rhodes, Camille Rodriguez, Meredith Welch and Brenda Umana for data collection and Elizabeth Kerschner for laboratory analysis of blood samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Parisa Tehranifar, Angeline Protacio, Sabine Oskar, Natalie J. Engmann & Mary Beth Terry

  2. Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Parisa Tehranifar, Karen M. Schmitt & Mary Beth Terry

  3. Division of Academics, Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA

    Karen M. Schmitt

  4. Avon Foundation Breast Imaging Center-New York Presbyterian, New York, NY, USA

    Karen M. Schmitt

  5. Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Elise Desperito

  6. Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Alan J. Potter

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  1. Parisa Tehranifar
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  2. Angeline Protacio
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  3. Karen M. Schmitt
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  7. Natalie J. Engmann
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  8. Mary Beth Terry
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Correspondence to Parisa Tehranifar.

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Tehranifar, P., Protacio, A., Schmitt, K.M. et al. The metabolic syndrome and mammographic breast density in a racially diverse and predominantly immigrant sample of women. Cancer Causes Control 26, 1393–1403 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-015-0630-4

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