Anthropometric variables in relation to risk of breast cancer in Nigerian women

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among women, and understanding how obesity impacts this disease has important public health implications. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective study that involved 100 participants managed for breast diseases from May 2015 to April 2017 at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi (NAUTH). All the participants were formally diagnosed using clinical evaluation and core tissue biopsy. Waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), height and weight were measured, subsequently body-mass index was estimated as a ratio of an individual’s weight (kg)/height (m2). Results: The mean age (SD) of the subjects was 41.6 (9.3) years; all the participants were women. The mean (SD) body-mass index, WC and WHR of all the participants were 27.57 (6.85) kg/m2; 87.70 (16.36)cm and 0.87 (0.07) respectively. The mean (SD) body-mass index of pre-menopausal and post-menopausal were 26.52 (6.62) kg/m2 and 30.60 (6.71) kg/m2 respectively. The mean (SD) WHR of pre-menopausal and post-menopausal were 0.87 (0.06) and 0.90 (0.08) respectively, whereas the mean (SD) WC of pre-menopausal and post-menopausal were 85 (15.0) cm and 94.85 (17.97) respectively, thus individuals who were older were more likely to be overweight or obese than younger persons. Conclusion: This study findings emphasize the importance of considering wide WC and high WHR while implementing risk reduction strategies of breast cancer in younger women. Future studies to elucidate the significance of this findings in larger cohorts are needed.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• height
• obesity
• waist circumference
• waist- hip ratio
• weight