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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Dr. Julia Smith, director of the Lynne Cohen Breast Cancer Preventative Care Program at the New York University Cancer Institute and Bellevue Hospital in New York City, called the findings "interesting and troubling." She added, "Sisters have to worry about increased risk no matter when their sister was diagnosed."
The second study from JNCI relied on data from the Nurse's Health Study II and included information from almost 65,000 women who completed questionnaires about their physical activity from age 12 until age 35. During the six-year follow-up period, 550 women from that group were diagnosed with breast cancer.
Women who walked about 13 hours a week or ran 3.25 hours a week had a 23 percent reduced risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer than women who were less active. The incidence rates of breast cancer were 194 per 100,000 "person-years" for the least active women, compared to 136 cases per 100,000 "person-years" for the most active women.
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"These results suggest that consistent physical activity during a woman's lifetime is associated with decreased breast cancer risk. Unlike many risk factors for breast cancer, physical activity is an exposure that can be modified," wrote the study's authors, who were led by Dr. Graham Colditz, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Smith said: "For many reasons, women should continue to exercise and try to be in shape." It makes sense that exercise might reduce breast cancer risk, she said, adding, "Women who are exercising regularly are decreasing body fat and estrogen."
The third study on breast cancer risk was an analysis of 62 other studies that looked at the impact of physical activity and breast cancer risk. This review, published online ahead of the print version of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that women who are physically active have a 25 percent decreased risk of breast cancer.
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