BERGEN, Norway—According to a new Norwegian study, metabolic syndrome is associated with a decreased risk of incident breast cancer in women below age 50 with high body mass index (BMI), and with an increased risk of breast cancer mortality in women above 60 (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010;19(7):1737–45). A total of 290,000 women from Austria, Norway and Sweden were enrolled during 1974 to 2005, with measurements of height, weight, blood pressure and levels of glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides.
There were 4,862 incident cases of breast cancer and 633 deaths from breast cancer identified. In women below age 50, there was a decreased risk of incident cancer for metabolic syndrome, as well as for the individual factors (except for glucose). The lowest risks were seen among the heaviest women. In women above age 60, there was an increased risk of breast cancer mortality for metabolic syndrome, and for blood pressure and glucose. The strongest association with mortality was seen for increased glucose concentrations. Researchers stated lifestyle interventions as recommended for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention may be of value to prevent breast cancer mortality in postmenopausal women.
