Growth Patterns and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women

In this study, associations between breast cancer and patterns of growth during childhood were analyzed in the school health records of 117,415 Danish women. High birth weight, a young age at peak growth, and high stature and low body-mass index at 14 years of age were all independent risk factors for breast cancer in adulthood. The mechanisms of these associations are unknown, but the data indicate that growth during childhood influences the risk of breast cancer during adult life. Patterns of growth analyzed in the school health records of 117,415 Danish women indicate that growth during childhood influences the risk of breast cancer. Most studies of body size and the risk of breast cancer have shown that tall women have an increased risk of breast cancer regardless of menopausal status, 1 whereas obese women have a reduced risk of breast cancer before menopause but an increased risk after menopause. 2 The extent to which these associations in adults reflect growth patterns in early life is unknown. A better understanding of the association between early growth patterns and the risk of breast cancer could improve our knowledge of the mechanisms of the disease and could be important for prevention. We explored possible associations among birth weight, . . .