Body Mass and Mortality After Breast Cancer Diagnosis

DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-05-0106 Published August 2005

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Distribution of select characteristics according to adult BMI among women with invasive breast cancer

Characteristic	All (N = 3,924) %	Adult BMI (kg/m²)
		≤22.99 (n = 2,331), %	23.00-24.99 (n = 666), %	25.00-29.99 (n = 664), %	≥30.00 (n = 263), %
Age at diagnosis (y)*
20-39	24.8	27.4	22.4	19.4	20.9
40-45	23.5	24.9	21.9	22.0	19.4
46-49	22.1	22.3	21.6	20.9	24.3
50-55	29.6	25.4	34.1	37.7	35.4
Race*
White	87.5	90.6	85.6	82.8	75.3
Black/other	12.5	9.4	14.1	17.2	24.7
Menopausal status*
Premenopause	47.0	51.0	43.1	39.9	39.5
Perimenopause	18.0	16.6	19.1	20.3	21.7
Natural menopause	13.1	11.4	15.6	16.0	15.2
Surgical menopause—no ovaries	7.8	7.2	7.5	9.8	8.4
Surgical menopause— ≥1 ovary	14.1	13.8	14.7	14.0	15.2
First-degree family history of breast cancer	11.7	12.2	11.7	10.7	9.5
Frequency of breast examinations^†
At least once per month	24.5	23.4	26.9	25.2	27.0
Several times a year	26.2	26.4	26.0	25.3	27.4
Once per year or less	49.1	50.1	46.9	49.1	45.6
Previous mammogram	16.1	16.0	17.6	17.3	11.0
Frequency of Pap smears*
At least once per year	72.2	75.3	71.9	67.3	57.0
Less than once per year	27.7	24.5	28.1	32.4	42.6
History of benign breast disease^‡	16.1	17.3	16.5	13.6	11.4
Cancer stage at diagnosis*
Local	51.4	54.0	47.0	48.2	47.5
Regional	45.4	43.6	49.1	47.7	45.6
Distant	3.2	2.4	3.9	4.1	6.8
Histologic type
Ductal	69.6	70.0	67.1	70.6	69.6
Lobular	8.6	9.3	9.5	6.0	7.2
Other	21.8	20.8	23.4	23.4	23.2
Radiation therapy	22.4	23.3	22.8	20.3	19.4
Educational level (y)*
<12	12.6	8.6	15.5	19.1	25.1
12-15	63.6	62.5	65.2	64.3	67.7
16+	23.8	29.0	19.4	16.6	6.8
Number of comorbidities*^,^§
None	62.8	71.7	60.5	47.9	27.8
1	26.7	22.4	28.2	35.2	39.9
2	8.0	4.6	9.0	13.1	22.4
3+	2.5	1.4	2.3	3.8	9.9

NOTE: Because of rounding or missing information, some column percentages do not add to 100.
↵* P < 0.001: Pearson χ² test.
↵† Before being diagnosed with a breast problem (lumps, cysts, or other problem).
↵‡ P < 0.05: Pearson χ² test.
↵§ Diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clots, kidney disease, gallbladder disease, heart attack, paralysis, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, other cancer.

Table 2.
Breast cancer mortality among women with invasive breast cancer by adult BMI
Adult BMI (kg/m²) N No. of deaths HR* (95% CI)
≤ 22.99 2,331 733 1.00 (referent)
23.00-24.99 666 252 1.20 (1.04-1.39)
25.00-29.99 664 253 1.25 (1.08-1.44)
≥30.00 263 109 1.34 (1.09-1.65)
P for trend <0.0001
↵* Adjusted for age at diagnosis, race, radiation therapy, history of benign breast disease, educational level, menopausal status, and cancer stage.

Table 3.

Breast cancer mortality among women with invasive breast cancer by adult BMI and menopausal status

↵* Adjusted for age at diagnosis, race, radiation therapy, history of benign breast disease, educational level, and cancer stage.

Table 4.
Breast cancer mortality among women with invasive breast cancer by BMI at age 18
Age 18 BMI (kg/m²) N No. of deaths HR* (95% CI)
≤ 21.59 2,905 965 1.00 (referent)
21.60-23.79 647 245 1.02 (0.88-1.18)
23.80-25.49 171 62 0.93 (0.71-1.23)
≥25.50 201 75 1.00 (0.77-1.30)
P for trend = 0.9
↵* Adjusted for age at diagnosis, race, radiation therapy, history of benign breast disease, educational level, menopausal status, adult BMI, and cancer stage.
Table 5.
Breast cancer mortality among women with invasive breast cancer by weight change from age 18 to usual adult weight
Weight change (lbs) N No. of deaths HR* (95% CI)
≤0 809 266 1.00 (referent)
1-10 998 310 0.90 (0.76-1.06)
11-17 589 200 0.98 (0.82-1.18)
18-30 822 301 1.02 (0.86-1.22)
≥31 706 270 1.02 (0.82-1.27)
P for trend = 0.5
↵* Adjusted for age at diagnosis, race, radiation therapy, history of benign breast disease, educational level, menopausal status, adult BMI, and cancer stage.