Leg length, sitting height and postmenopausal breast cancer risk

Tallness has consistently been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. We investigated the association further by decomposing height into leg length and sitting height.

From the prospective Danish cohort 'Diet, Cancer and Health', 23 864 postmenopausal women enrolled during 1993-1997 were followed for a diagnosis of breast cancer in the Danish Cancer Registry through 2009.

The incidence rate ratios for breast cancer were 1.11 (95% CI=1.06-1.16) for each 5 cm increase in total height and 1.09 (95% CI=1.01-1.17) and 1.14 (95% CI=1.04-1.25) for each 5 cm increase in leg length and sitting height, respectively. There was no statistical significant difference between the associations for leg length and sitting height (P=0.47).

Leg length does not seem to be more strongly associated with breast cancer among postmenopausal women than sitting height.