142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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312613
Lifetime Occupational Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Risk

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Christine C. Ekenga, PhD, MPH , Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
Christine Parks, PhD, MSPH , Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
Dale P. Sandler, PhD , Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
Background:  Physical activity is a modifiable risk factor for breast cancer. An inverse association between recreational physical activity and breast cancer has been well established in epidemiologic studies.  It is not clear, however, if occupational physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between occupational physical activity and breast cancer risk in a prospective study of 47,775 women enrolled in the Sister Study between 2004 and 2009.

Methods: Data on lifetime occupational history and suspected risk factors for breast cancer were collected at enrollment.  For each job held after the age of 18, study participants were asked to characterize their physical activity.  Active work was defined as working in a job that required continuous walking or heavy manual labor.  The association between occupational physical activity and breast cancer risk was evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results: A total of 1,914 breast cancer cases were diagnosed after five years of follow-up.  Compared with women who did not spend any time in active jobs, women who spent a high proportion (>75%) of their working years in active jobs had a borderline reduced risk of breast cancer (HR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.56-1.00) after adjusting for breast cancer risk factors. This association was independent of leisure-time physical activity. 

Conclusions: These results suggest that occupational physical activity may reduce the risk of breast cancer in women.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss occupational risk factors for breast cancer. Describe how occupational physical activity influences breast cancer risk in Sister Study women.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a doctoral degree in Epidemiology. My research interests include studying risk factors for chronic diseases, and I have published several peer-reviewed articles in this field.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3143.0: New Findings in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Chronic Disesease Epidemiology