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Accelerometer-based measures of active and sedentary behavior in relation to breast cancer risk

  • Epidemiology
  • Published:
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Epidemiologic studies suggest that physical activity reduces breast cancer risk by 20–40 %. However, prior studies have relied on measures of self-report. In a population-based case–control study, we evaluated accelerometer measures of active and sedentary behavior in relation to breast cancer among 996 incident cases and 1,164 controls, residents of Warsaw, Poland (2000–2003), who were asked to wear an accelerometer for 7 days. Accelerometer values were averaged across valid wear days and summarized as overall activity (counts [ct]/min/day); in minutes spent in sedentary behavior (0–99 ct/min); and light (100–759 ct/min) and moderate-to-vigorous (760+ ct/min) activity. Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. Comparing women in the highest quartile (Q4) of activity to those in the lowest (Q1), time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity was inversely associated with breast cancer odds after adjustment for known risk factors, sedentary behavior and wear time (ORQ4vsQ1 0.39, 95 % CI 0.27–0.56; P-trend < .0001). Sedentary time was positively associated with breast cancer, independent of moderate-to-vigorous activity (ORQ4vsQ1 1.81, 95 % CI 1.26-2.60; P-trend = 0.001). Light activity was not associated with breast cancer in multivariable models including both moderate-to-vigorous activity and sedentary behavior. Our findings support an inverse association between accelerometer-based measures of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and breast cancer while also suggesting potential increases in risk with sedentary time.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

Ct:

Counts

ER:

Estrogen receptor

MV:

Multivariable

NCI:

US National Cancer Institute

OR:

Odds ratio

PR:

Progesterone receptor

Q:

Quartile

SD:

Standard deviation

PAM:

Physical activity monitor

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Acknowledgments

We thank Michael Stagner and Pei Chao for their work on study and data management (IMS, Silver Spring, MD); physicians, pathologists, nurses, and interviewers from participating centers in Poland for their efforts in the field. We also thank the participants of the Polish Study for their contributions to this study, Dr. Bill Anderson for his statistical consultation, Dr. Mark Sherman for his independent evaluation of histopathological information, and Drs. Montserrat Garcia-Closas and Mark Sherman for contributions to study design. Polish Breast Cancer Study was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services, USA. Participating centers in Poland: Cancer Center and M. Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw Departments of Epidemiology (Coordinating center: Dr Jolanta Lissowska, Mrs Alicja Bardin-Mikolajczak, and Dr Witold Zatonski), Breast Cancer Treatment and Reconstruction (Drs Edward Towpik and Jerzy Giermek), Departments of Surgical Oncology (Dr Pawel Kukawski), and Pathology (Drs Grzegorz Rymkiewicz, Marcin Ligaj, Joanna Baran′ska, Agnieszka Turowicz, and Włodzimierz Olszewski). Polish Oncological Foundation in Warsaw Pathology (Drs Dorota Mazepa-Sikora, Włodzimierz Olszewski). Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łόdz′ (Drs Neonila Szeszenia-Da˛browska, Beata Peplonska). Medical University in Łόdz′ Oncology Clinic (Drs Arkadiusz Jeziorski, Janusz Piekarski), and Pathology Department (Drs Radzislaw Kordek, Grazyna Pasz-Walczak, Robert Kubiak, Dorota Kupnicka, Boguslaw Olborski). Community Copernicus Hospital in Łόdz′ Department of Surgical Oncology (Drs Zbigniew Morawiec and Mariusz Pawlak). Polish Mother’s Health Memorial Hospital in Łόdz′ Departments of Surgical Oncology and Breast Diseases (Drs Marcin Faflik, Magdalena Baklinska, Marek Zadrozny, Boguslaw Westfal) and Clinical Pathomorphology (Drs Stanislaw Lukaszek, Andrzej Kulig).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Center for Cancer Training, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Cher M. Dallal

  2. Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6120 Executive Blvd., Suite 550, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Louise A. Brinton & Gretchen L. Gierach

  3. Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6120 Executive Blvd., Room 320, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Charles E. Matthews

  4. M.Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, 5 Roentgena Street, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland

    Jolanta Lissowska

  5. Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Teresy 8 Street, 91-348, Łódź, Poland

    Beata Peplonska

  6. Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 104 Chandlee Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Terryl J. Hartman

  7. Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 6120 Executive Blvd., Suite 550, Rm 5010, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Cher M. Dallal

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  1. Cher M. Dallal
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  2. Louise A. Brinton
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  3. Charles E. Matthews
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  4. Jolanta Lissowska
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  5. Beata Peplonska
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  6. Terryl J. Hartman
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  7. Gretchen L. Gierach
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Correspondence to Cher M. Dallal.

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Dallal, C.M., Brinton, L.A., Matthews, C.E. et al. Accelerometer-based measures of active and sedentary behavior in relation to breast cancer risk. Breast Cancer Res Treat 134, 1279–1290 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-012-2129-y

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