Association of Obesity and Diabetes With the Incidence of Breast Cancer in Louisiana

Introduction: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, consisting of multiple molecular subtypes. Obesity has been associated with an increased risk for postmenopausal breast cancer, but few studies have examined breast cancer subtypes separately. Obesity is often complicated by type 2 diabetes, but the possible association of diabetes with specific breast cancer subtypes remains poorly understood. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, Louisiana Tumor Registry records of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed in 2010-2015 were linked to electronic health records in the Louisiana Public Health Institute's Research Action for Health Network. Controls were selected from Research Action for Health Network and matched to cases by age and race. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify metabolic risk factors. Data analysis was conducted in 2020-2021. Results: There was a significant association between diabetes and breast cancer for Luminal A, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, and human epidermal growth factor 2-positive subtypes. In multiple logistic regression, including both obesity status and diabetes as independent risk factors, Luminal A breast cancer was also associated with overweight status. Diabetes was associated with increased risk for Luminal A and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in subgroup analyses, including women aged >= 50 years, Black women, and White women. Conclusions: Although research has identified obesity and diabetes as risk factors for breast cancer, these results underscore that comorbid risk is complex and may differ by molecular subtype. There was a significant association between diabetes and the incidence of Luminal A, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, and human epidermal growth factor 2-positive breast cancer in Louisiana. (C) 2022 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The association between obesity, diabetes, and breast cancer varies by molecular subtype. This study found a significant association between diabetes and the incidence of Luminal A, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, and human epidermal growth factor 2-positive breast cancer in Louisiana.