Nm. Probst-hensch et al., Ethnic differences in post-menopausal plasma oestrogen levels: high oestrone levels in Japanese-American women despite low weight, BR J CANC, 82(11), 2000, pp. 1867-1870
Breast cancer incidence in Japanese-American women is approaching that of U
S Whites. We investigated whether this shift is paralleled by similar post-
menopausal plasma hormone levels in the two ethnic groups. We also included
African-American and Latina women to further our understanding of possible
ethnic differences in oestrogen metabolism. We measured androstenedione (A
), oestrone (E1) and oestradiol (E2) in 30 Japanese-American, 39 non-latina
White ('White'), 66 African-American and 58 Latina women. The (age adjuste
d) geometric mean E1 levels were 34 pg ml(-1) in Japanese-Americans, 28 pg
ml(-1) in Whites, 35 pg ml(-1) in African-Americans and 31 pg ml(-1) in Lat
inas. After adjustment for body mass index, Japanese-Americans had the high
est mean E1 value of all groups and this was statistically significantly gr
eater than the value for Whites (Pt-test = 0.05). The geometric mean A conc
entrations were also highest in Japanese-Americans. There was little ethnic
difference in E2 levels, in conclusion, post-menopausal plasma oestrogen l
evels in Japanese-American women are at least as high as those in Whites. (
C) 2000 Cancer Research Campaign.