Lifestyle and breast cancer

An article published in January 2020 (1) reported the results of a study that tracked the relationship between lifestyle and breast cancer incidence for 950 women. Of these, 750 were healthy at the start of the study and 350 were already diagnosed with breast cancer. For each participant in the study, a healthy lifestyle score was set, ranging from 0 (completely unhealthy lifestyle) to 3 (very healthy lifestyle). This score was established by combining the following criteria: the healthy eating index (HEI-2010), the degree of physical activity, the existence or not of smoking habits. The mean age and body mass index (BMI) of the study participants were 62.4 years and 24.3 kg/m2 respectively.

The central finding of the study was that women with a high healthy lifestyle score had a significantly lower risk of contracting breast cancer (0.38%), compared to women with a low healthy lifestyle score. Of all the criteria considered, it was found that the healthy diet was the one that made the difference between the two groups (44% reduction in the risk of breast cancer). This difference is clear in menopausal women.

Source: Nutrition Journal Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6961278/