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Ethnic variations in mammographic density: a British multiethnic longitudinal study
Valerie A McCormack1, Nicholas Perry, Sarah J Vinnicombe
1Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Valerie.mccormack@lshtm.ac.uk
American Journal of Epidemiology
|July 16, 2008
Summary
Mammographic density is lower in South Asian and Afro-Caribbean women compared to Caucasian women in the UK. These differences in breast density align with lower breast cancer incidence rates in these ethnic groups.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Radiology
- Public Health
Background:
- First-generation South Asian and Afro-Caribbean women in the UK exhibit lower breast cancer incidence rates than Caucasian women.
- The relationship between ethnicity and mammographic density, a known breast cancer risk factor, remains under-investigated in UK populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether lower breast cancer incidence in South Asian and Afro-Caribbean women is associated with differences in mammographic density.
- To explore the influence of reproductive and lifestyle risk factors on mammographic density across ethnic groups.
Main Methods:
- A population-based, multiethnic study involving 645 women aged 50-64 years in the UK.
- Assessment of mammographic density from 5,277 digitized mammograms (1995-2004) using threshold percent density.
- Collection of breast cancer risk factor data via questionnaires and telephone interviews, analyzed using multilevel models.
Main Results:
- Age-adjusted mammographic density was 5.6% lower in Afro-Caribbeans and 5.9% lower in South Asians compared to Caucasians.
- While higher body mass index, less hormone therapy use, and protective reproductive histories contributed to lower density, they did not fully explain the ethnic differences.
- Fully adjusted mean densities were 1.3% lower in Afro-Caribbeans and 3.8% lower in South Asians, indicating residual ethnic variation.
Conclusions:
- Ethnic differences in mammographic density exist between South Asian, Afro-Caribbean, and Caucasian women in the UK.
- These observed differences in mammographic density are consistent with established ethnic variations in breast cancer risk.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific biological and environmental factors driving these ethnic disparities in breast density and cancer risk.
