THE RELATIONSHIP OF BODY-MASS INDEX TO REPRODUCTIVE FACTORS IN PREMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN WITH AND WITHOUT BREAST-CANCER

To date, there are virtually no existing data on the relationship betw een obesity, menopausal status, and breast cancer in African-Americans . Therefore, the present study was designed to test the following hypo theses in an African-American population: (1) there exists a positive association between BMI and breast cancer among postmenopausal women; (2) there exists an inverse association between BMI and breast cancer among premenopausal women; and (3) similar associations between BMI an d reproductive factors exist for both pre- and postmenopausal breast c ancer cases, The study population comprised 357 African-American women (n=193 breast cancer cases; n=164 controls), No significant differenc es were observed between premenopausal cases and controls for BMI, obe sity categories, and reproductive factors, Among the postmenopausal wo men, the cases had significantly lower weight and BMI levels than the controls, Age at first pregnancy and parity were significantly lower a mong postmenopausal cases than their controls, No significant associat ions were revealed between body mass index and breast cancer for pre- and postmenopausal women, In the present study, early age at menarche was the only reproductive factor that was an independent predictor of BMI for both pre- and postmenopausal women, irrespective of breast can cer status, Also, these findings strongly suggest the need to consider reproductive factors, particularly age at menarche, as a covariate of BMI and other obesity-related diseases.