Residential traffic noise and mammographic breast density in the Diet, Cancer, and Health cohort

Exposure to natural vegetation in relation to mammographic density in a Massachusetts-based clinical cohort

Inverse associations between natural vegetation exposure (i.e., greenness) and breast cancer risk have been reported; however, it remains unknown whether greenness affects breast tissue development or operates through other mechanisms (e.g., body mass index [BMI] or physical activity). We examined the association between greenness and mammographic density—a strong breast cancer risk factor—to determine whether greenness influences breast tissue composition independent of lifestyle factors.

The epidemiologic factors associated with breast density: A review

In recent years, some studies have evaluated the epidemiologic factors associated with breast density. However, the variant and inconsistent results exist. In addition, breast density has been proved to be a significant risk factor associated with breast cancer. Our review summarized the published studies and emphasized the crucial factors including epidemiological factors associated with breast density. In addition, we also discussed the potential reasons for the discrepant results with risk factors. To decrease the incidence and mortality rates for breast cancer, in clinical practice, breast density should be included for clinical risk models in addition to epidemiological factors, and physicians should get more concentrate on those women with risk factors and provide risk-based breast cancer screening regimens.

Evidence for Environmental Noise Effects on Health for the United Kingdom Policy Context: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Environmental Noise on Mental Health, Wellbeing, Quality of Life, Cancer, Dementia, Birth, Reproductive Outcomes, and Cognition

This systematic review commissioned by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), considers how the evidence base for noise effects on health has changed following the recent reviews undertaken for the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines. This systematic review assesses the quality of the evidence for environmental noise effects on mental health, wellbeing, and quality of life; birth and reproductive outcomes; and cognition for papers published since the WHO reviews (mid-2015 to March 2019), as well as for cancer and dementia (January 2014 to March 2019). Using the GRADE methodology (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) most evidence was rated as low quality as opposed to very low quality in the previous reviews. There is now low-quality evidence for a harmful effect of road traffic noise on medication use and interview measures of depression and anxiety and low quality evidence for a harmful effect of road traffic noise, aircraft noise, and railway noise on some cancer outcomes. Many other conclusions from the WHO evidence reviews remain unchanged. The conclusions remain limited by the low number of studies for many outcomes. The quantification of health effects for other noise sources including wind turbine, neighbour, industrial, and combined noise remains a research priority.

Mammographic Density and Screening Sensitivity, Breast Cancer Incidence and Associated Risk Factors in Danish Breast Cancer Screening

Background: Attention in the 2000s on the importance of mammographic density led us to study screening sensitivity, breast cancer incidence, and associations with risk factors by mammographic density in Danish breast cancer screening programs. Here, we summarise our approaches and findings. Methods: Dichotomized density codes: fatty, equal to BI-RADS density code 1 and part of 2, and other mixed/dense data from the 1990s—were available from two counties, and BI-RADS density codes from one region were available from 2012/13. Density data were linked with data on vital status, incident breast cancer, and potential risk factors. We calculated screening sensitivity by combining data on screen-detected and interval cancers. We used cohorts to study high density as a predictor of breast cancer risk; cross-sectional data to study the association between life style factors and density, adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI); and time trends to study the prevalence of high density across birth cohorts. Results: Sensitivity decreased with increasing density from 78% in women with BI-RADS 1 to 47% in those with BI-RADS 4. For women with mixed/dense compared with those with fatty breasts, the rate ratio of incident breast cancer was 2.45 (95% CI 2.14–2.81). The percentage of women with mixed/dense breasts decreased with age, but at a higher rate the later the women were born. Among users of postmenopausal hormone therapy, the percentage of women with mixed/dense breasts was higher than in non-users, but the patterns across birth cohorts were similar. The occurrence of mixed/dense breast at screening age decreased by a z-score unit of BMI at age 13—odds ratio (OR) 0.56 (95% CI 0.53–0.58)—and so did breast cancer risk and hazard ratio (HR) 0.92 (95% CI 0.84–1.00), but it changed to HR 1.01 (95% CI 0.93–1.11) when controlled for density. Age and BMI adjusted associations between life style factors and density were largely close to unity; physical activity OR 1.06 (95% CI 0.93–1.21); alcohol consumption OR 1.01 (95% CI 0.81–1.27); air pollution OR 0.96 (95% 0.93–1.01) per 20 μg/m³; and traffic noise OR 0.94 (95% CI 0.86–1.03) per 10 dB. Weak negative associations were seen for diabetes OR 0.61 (95% CI 0.40–0.92) and cigarette smoking OR 0.86 (95% CI 0.75–0.99), and a positive association was found with hormone therapy OR 1.24 (95% 1.14–1.35). Conclusion: Our data indicate that breast tissue in middle-aged women is highly dependent on childhood body constitution while adult life-style plays a modest role, underlying the need for a long-term perspective in primary prevention of breast cancer.