Health & body · 2001
Is being tall in childhood associated with a higher risk of breast cancer later in life?
This study found no association between being tall for age at 9–11 years and later breast cancer risk, although being tall for age at 15–18 years was associated with higher odds. The findings did not support a link between pubertal skeletal growth and adult breast cancer risk, but few postmenopausal women were included.
Details
The researchers tested the hypothesis that girls who were relatively tall before puberty—described as an indicator of an affluent diet and good general health—had an increased risk of breast cancer later in life.
They conducted a case-control study using medical records. The cases were 214 long-term Kaiser Permanente members diagnosed with breast cancer during 1973–1995 who had first joined at age 12 or younger. They were compared with 214 appropriately matched controls.
The researchers observed the expected association between adult height and breast cancer risk: for height at ages 15–18, those who were tall for their age versus short for their age had an odds ratio of 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.1–4.3). The association was no stronger earlier in life: for height at ages 9–11, the odds ratio was 1.0 (95% confidence interval: 0.5–1.8).
The study did not support a relationship between pubertal skeletal growth and adult breast cancer risk. However, it was limited by the inclusion of few postmenopausal women.
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