Association between regional body fat and cardiovascular disease risk among postmenopausal women with normal body mass index.

AIMS: Central adiposity is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, even among people with normal body mass index (BMI). We tested the hypothesis that regional body fat deposits (trunk or leg fat) are associated with altered risk of CVD among postmenopausal women with normal BMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 2683 postmenopausal women with normal BMI (18.5 to <25 kg/m2) who participated in the Women's Health Initiative and had no known CVD at baseline. Body composition was determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Incident CVD events including coronary heart disease and stroke were ascertained through February 2017. During a median 17.9 years of follow-up, 291 incident CVD cases occurred. After adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical risk factors, neither whole-body fat mass nor fat percentage was associated with CVD risk. Higher percent trunk fat was associated with increased risk of CVD [highest vs. lowest quartile hazard ratio (HR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33-2.74; P-trend <0.001], whereas higher percent leg fat was associated with decreased risk of CVD (highest vs. lowest quartile HR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.89; P-trend = 0.008). The association for trunk fat was attenuated yet remained significant after further adjustment for waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio. Higher percent trunk fat combined with lower percent leg fat was associated with particularly high risk of CVD (HR comparing extreme groups = 3.33, 95% CI 1.46-7.62). CONCLUSION: Among postmenopausal women with normal BMI, both elevated trunk fat and reduced leg fat are associated with increased risk of CVD.

Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Stroke, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in the Women's Health Initiative.

Background and Purpose- We examine the association between self-reported consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) and stroke and its subtypes, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality in a cohort of postmenopausal US women. Methods- The analytic cohort included 81 714 women from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, a multicenter longitudinal study of the health of 93 676 postmenopausal women of ages 50 to 79 years at baseline who enrolled in 1993 to 1998. This prospective study had a mean follow-up time of 11.9 years (SD of 5.3 years.) Participants who completed a follow-up visit 3 years after baseline were included in the study. Results- Most participants (64.1%) were infrequent consumers (never or <1/week) of ASB, with only 5.1% consuming ≥2 ASBs/day. In multivariate analyses, those consuming the highest level of ASB compared to never or rarely (<1/wk) had significantly greater likelihood of all end points (except hemorrhagic stroke), after controlling for multiple covariates. Adjusted models indicated that hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were 1.23 (1.02-1.47) for all stroke; 1.31 (1.06-1.63) for ischemic stroke; 1.29 (1.11-1.51) for coronary heart disease; and 1.16 (1.07-1.26) for all-cause mortality. In women with no prior history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus, high consumption of ASB was associated with more than a 2-fold increased risk of small artery occlusion ischemic stroke hazard ratio =2.44 (95% confidence interval, 1.47-4.04.) High consumption of ASBs was associated with significantly increased risk of ischemic stroke in women with body mass index ≥30; hazard ratio =2.03 (95% confidence interval, 1.38-2.98). Conclusions- Higher intake of ASB was associated with increased risk of stroke, particularly small artery occlusion subtype, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality. Although requiring replication, these new findings add to the potentially harmful association of consuming high quantities of ASB with these health outcomes.

Association of Hemoglobin Concentration With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality in a Cohort of Postmenopausal Women.

Anemia and low and high levels of hemoglobin have been associated with increased mortality and morbidity. However, most studies have measured hemoglobin at only 1 time point, and few studies have considered possible reverse causation. We used data from the Women's Health Initiative, in which baseline hemoglobin was measured in 160,081 postmenopausal women and year 3 hemoglobin was measured in 75,658 participants, to examine the associations of hemoglobin concentration with total mortality, coronary heart disease mortality, and cancer mortality. Women were enrolled from 1993 to 1998 and followed for a median of 16 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the relative mortality hazards associated with deciles of baseline hemoglobin and the mean of baseline + year 3 hemoglobin. Both low and high deciles of baseline hemoglobin were positively associated with all 3 outcomes in the total cohort. In analyses restricted to women with 2 measurements, a low mean hemoglobin level was robustly and positively associated with all 3 outcomes, after exclusion of the early years of follow-up. High mean hemoglobin was also associated with increased risk of total mortality, whereas associations with heart disease mortality and cancer mortality were weaker and inconsistent. Our results provide evidence that low and high levels of hemoglobin are associated with increased risk of mortality in otherwise healthy women.

Risk of breast, endometrial, colorectal, and renal cancers in postmenopausal women in association with a body shape index and other anthropometric measures.

PURPOSE: A body shape index (ABSI) has been proposed as a possible improvement over waist circumference (WC) as a marker of abdominal adiposity because it removes the correlation of WC with body mass index (BMI) and with height. We assessed the association of ABSI with four obesity-related cancers compared to that of other anthropometric measures of adiposity. METHODS: We used data from the Women's Health Initiative, a large cohort of postmenopausal women, recruited between 1993 and 1998 and followed until September 2013, to assess the associations of ABSI and other anthropometric measures with risk of cancers of the breast, endometrium, colorectum, and kidney. The four comparison anthropometric measures were BMI, WC, waist circumference-to-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-hip ratio (WHR). Over a median of 12.7 years of follow-up, among 143,901 women, we identified 7,039 invasive breast cancers, 1,157 endometrial cancers, 1,908 colorectal cancers, and 376 kidney cancers. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the association of quintiles of the five measures with risk of the four cancers. RESULTS: Unlike the other anthropometric indices, ABSI was not associated with increased risk of breast or endometrial cancer. BMI and WC were comparable as predictors of breast and endometrial cancer, and these associations were unchanged after mutual adjustment. For colorectal and kidney cancers, ABSI was a significant predictor comparable to BMI; however, WC showed the strongest association with colorectal cancer, and WC, WHtR, and WHR all showed stronger associations with kidney cancer. CONCLUSION: In contrast to other anthropometric measures, ABSI showed no association with risk of breast or endometrial cancer and was more weakly associated with risk of colorectal and kidney cancers compared to more established measures of central adiposity.

Potassium intake and risk of stroke in women with hypertension and nonhypertension in the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dietary potassium has been associated with lower risk of stroke, but there are little data on dietary potassium effects on different stroke subtypes or in older women with hypertension and nonhypertension. METHODS: The study population consisted of 90 137 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 at enrollment, free of stroke history at baseline, followed up prospectively for an average of 11 years. Outcome variables were total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic stroke, and all-cause mortality. Incidence was compared across quartiles of dietary potassium intake, and hazard ratios were obtained from Cox proportional hazards models after adjusting for potential confounding variables, and in women with hypertension and nonhypertension separately. RESULTS: Mean dietary potassium intake was 2611 mg/d. Highest quartile of potassium intake was associated with lower incidence of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and total mortality. Multivariate analyses comparing highest to lowest quartile of potassium intake indicated a hazard ratio of 0.90 (95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.95) for all-cause mortality, 0.88 (95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.98) for all stroke, and 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.96) for ischemic stroke. The effect on ischemic stroke was more apparent in women with nonhypertension among whom there was a 27% lower risk with hazard ratio of 0.73 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-0.88), interaction P<0.10. There was no association with hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: High potassium intake is associated with a lower risk of all stroke and ischemic stroke, as well as all-cause mortality in older women, particularly those who are not hypertensive.

Adult height in relation to risk of cancer in a cohort of Canadian women.

Although the influence of body mass index on cancer risk has been intensively investigated, few epidemiologic studies have examined the association of adult height with risk of cancer. We assessed the association of height with risk of all cancer and of 19 site-specific cancers in the Canadian National Breast Screening Study, a prospective cohort of nearly 90,000 women. Weight and height were measured at enrollment, and information on reproductive and medical history as well as lifestyle exposures was obtained by means of questionnaire. After exclusions, 5,679 incident invasive cancers were identified among 88,256 women. We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) per 10 cm increase in height. All tests of statistical significance were two sided. All cancers combined and ten specific sites (colorectum, colon, premenopausal breast, postmenopausal breast, endometrium, ovary, kidney, thyroid, melanoma and leukemia) showed statistically significant positive associations with height. The HR for all cancers combined was 1.13 (95% CI: 1.08-1.18), and the magnitude of the associations for specific sites ranged from HR 1.11 (95% CI: 1.03-1.20) for postmenopausal breast cancer to HR 1.51 (95% CI: 1.27-1.80) for melanoma. Our study provides strong support for a positive association of adult height with risk of certain cancers. The underlying biological mechanisms are not clear but may differ by anatomic site.

Physical activity and risk of benign proliferative epithelial disorders of the breast, in the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Recreational physical activity (PA) has been shown to be inversely associated with breast cancer risk. However, the association of recreational PA with benign proliferative epithelial disorders (BPED) of the breast, conditions associated with increased risk of breast cancer, has not been adequately studied. METHODS: We used data from an ancillary study of benign breast disease conducted among the 68 132 postmenopausal women (aged 50-79 at recruitment) participating in the Women's Health Initiative randomized clinical trials. All clinical trial participants underwent annual or biennial mammogram screening. During the follow-up, for women who reported breast biopsies but were cancer free, the associated histological sections were obtained and subjected to standardized central pathology review. Self-reported recreational PA at baseline (n = 61 684) and at 3 years of the follow-up (n = 55 923) were quantified as metabolic equivalents [MET]-h/week. There were 1624 confirmed BPED cases during an average follow-up time of 7.7 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Higher average PA over 4 years was associated with lower risk of non-atypical BPED (P-trend = 0.02). There was a 6% lower risk of non-atypical BPED for every 5 MET-h/week increase between baseline and year 3 (HR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.89-0.99). Compared with women who remained inactive (PAbaseline and PAyear3 <9 MET-h/week), those who became active (PAbaseline<9 MET-h/week to PAyear3 ≥9 MET-h/weekee), remained active (PAbaseline and PAyear3 ≥9 MET-h/week), or decreased activity (PAbaseline ≥9 MET-h/week to PAyear3 <9 MET-h/week) had lower BPED risk. CONCLUSIONS: Recreational physical activity after menopause was associated with lower BPED risk among postmenopausal women.

Low Diastolic Blood Pressure and Mortality in Older Women. Results From the Women's Health Initiative Long Life Study.

BACKGROUND: Recommended systolic blood pressure targets often do not consider the relationship of low diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality risk, which is especially relevant for older people with concurrent comorbidities. We examined the relationship of DBP levels to CVD and all-cause mortality in older women in the Women's Health Initiative Long Life Study (WHI-LLS). METHODS: The study sample included 7,875 women (mean age: 79 years) who underwent a blood pressure measurement at an in-person home visit conducted in 2012-2013. CVD and all-cause mortality were centrally adjudicated. Hazard ratios (HRs) were obtained from adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: After 5 years follow-up, all-cause mortality occurred in 18.4% of women. Compared with a DBP of 80 mm Hg, the fully adjusted HR for mortality was 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.71) for a DBP of 50 mm Hg and 1.67 (95% CI: 1.29-2.16) for a DBP of 100 mm Hg. The HRs for CVD were 1.14 (95% CI: 0.78-1.67) for a DBP of 50 mm Hg and HR 1.50 (95% CI: 1.03-2.17) for a DBP of 100 mm Hg. The nadir DBP associated with lowest mortality risk was 72 mm Hg overall. CONCLUSIONS: In older women, consideration should be given to the potential adverse effects of low and high DBP. Low DBP may serve as a risk marker. DBP target levels between 68 and 75 mm Hg may avoid higher mortality risk.

The Association of Predicted Resting Energy Expenditure with Risk of Breast Cancer among Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative Cohort.

Obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and chronic inflammation, have been positively associated both with postmenopausal breast cancer and with resting energy expenditure (REE). However, there is limited epidemiologic evidence on the associations between REE and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to examine the association between predicted REE (calculated using the Ikeda, Livingston, and Mifflin equations) and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer overall and by subtypes, and by level of body fat) among 137,283 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). All predicted REEs were positively associated with risk of invasive breast cancer [HRq5 vs. q1 = 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.57-1.81; HR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.57-1.82; and HR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.56-1.80 for Ikeda, Livingston, and Mifflin, respectively]. These positive associations were observed irrespective of the hormone receptor subtype, grade, and stage of the tumors, but were most pronounced for estrogen receptor-positive/progesterone receptor-positive tumors. After additional adjustment for body mass index (BMI), the associations were mostly attenuated and remained statistically significant for most of the outcomes. We also observed an interaction between the predicted REEs and BMI, with the associations being somewhat stronger among normal weight and overweight women than among obese women (Pinteractions < 0.05). Our findings indicate that relatively high REE is associated with increased risk of invasive breast cancer among postmenopausal women (particularly for the obesity-related tumor subtypes), irrespective of the equation used. Further studies using more objective measures of REE are, however, needed to confirm our findings. PREVENTION RELEVANCE: This study showed that higher resting energy expenditure (REE) was associated with higher postmenopausal breast cancer risk. REE provides energy to support cancer-associated disorders such as obesity and inflammation. Thus, studies on its association with breast cancer can help to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of breast cancer.

Body Fat Distribution, Cardiometabolic Traits, and Risk of Major Lower-Extremity Arterial Disease in Postmenopausal Women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between body fat distribution and incident lower-extremity arterial disease (LEAD). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We included 155,925 postmenopausal women with anthropometric measures from the Women's Health Initiative who had no known LEAD at recruitment. A subset of 10,894 participants had body composition data quantified by DXA. Incident cases of symptomatic LEAD were ascertained and adjudicated through medical record review. RESULTS: We identified 1,152 incident cases of LEAD during a median 18.8 years follow-up. After multivariable adjustment and mutual adjustment, waist and hip circumferences were positively and inversely associated with risk of LEAD, respectively (both P-trend < 0.0001). In a subset (n = 22,561) where various cardiometabolic biomarkers were quantified, a similar positive association of waist circumference with risk of LEAD was eliminated after adjustment for diabetes and HOMA of insulin resistance (P-trend = 0.89), whereas hip circumference remained inversely associated with the risk after adjustment for major cardiometabolic traits (P-trend = 0.0031). In the DXA subset, higher trunk fat (P-trend = 0.0081) and higher leg fat (P-trend < 0.0001) were associated with higher and lower risk of LEAD, respectively. Further adjustment for diabetes, dyslipidemia, and blood pressure diminished the association for trunk fat (P-trend = 0.49), yet the inverse association for leg fat persisted (P-trend = 0.0082). CONCLUSIONS: Among U.S. postmenopausal women, a positive association of upper-body fat with risk of LEAD appeared to be attributable to traditional risk factors, especially insulin resistance. Lower-body fat was inversely associated with risk of LEAD beyond known risk factors.

The association of hypnotics with incident cardiovascular disease and mortality in older women with sleep disturbances.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Insomnia is common in older women and is associated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Nonbenzodiazepine GABA agonists (Z-drugs) are the most commonly prescribed sleep aids. The study objective was to determine whether the use of Z-drugs is associated with the risk of developing CVD and mortality in older women with sleep disturbances. PATIENTS/METHODS: The study cohort included post-menopausal women who, at baseline, scored ≥9 with the Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale (N = 40,728). Members of the cohort were categorized as users of Z-drugs, users of other prescription hypnotics, or non-users. Outcomes were composite CVD (congestive heart failure, stroke, and fatal/non-fatal myocardial infarction) and mortality. Hazard ratios were estimated from Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for demographics, medical history, and sleep measures. To address potential confounding by indication, we also adjusted for propensity to be prescribed hypnotics. RESULTS: The mean age of our cohort was 63.57 years (SD = 7.23) and mean follow-up time after the initial follow-up visit was 14.0 years (SD = 6.3). Z-drug use was significantly associated with an increased risk of composite CVD (HR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.02-1.79) and all-cause mortality (HR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.13-1.69). When groups were divided by heavy and casual use, only heavy users (≥3 times per week) had an increased risk of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Z-drugs use was associated with an increased risk for death and CVD in post-menopausal women being treated for sleep disturbances. Additional research is needed to evaluate both frequency and duration of Z-drug use.

Dietary cholesterol and egg intake in relation to incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: The potential cardiovascular impact of dietary cholesterol intake has been actively debated for decades. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate associations of dietary cholesterol and egg intakes with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. METHODS: We included 96,831 US postmenopausal women aged 50-79 y without known CVD or cancer during baseline enrollment (1993-1998) of the Women's Health Initiative. Dietary information was collected using a validated FFQ. Incident CVD [i.e., ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke] and all-cause and cause-specific mortality were ascertained and adjudicated through February 2018. RESULTS: A total of 9808 incident CVD cases and 19,508 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 17.8 y and 18.9 y, respectively. After multivariable adjustment for traditional risk factors and key dietary nutrients including dietary saturated fat, there were modest associations of dietary cholesterol intake with incident CVD (HRQ5versusQ1: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.21; P-trend < 0.001) and all-cause mortality (HRQ5versusQ1: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.15; P-trend < 0.001). Significant positive associations were also observed between dietary cholesterol and incident IHD (P-trend = 0.007), incident ischemic stroke (P-trend = 0.002), and CVD mortality (P-trend = 0.002), whereas there was an inverse association for incident hemorrhagic stroke (P-trend = 0.037) and no association for mortality from cancer, Alzheimer disease/dementia, respiratory diseases, or other causes (P-trend > 0.05). Higher egg consumption was also associated with modestly higher risk of incident CVD (P-trend = 0.004) and all-cause mortality (P-trend < 0.001), with HRs of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.25) and 1.14 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.22), respectively, when comparing ≥1 egg/d with <1 egg/wk. CONCLUSIONS: Both higher dietary cholesterol intake and higher egg consumption appeared to be associated with modestly elevated risk of incident CVD and all-cause mortality in US postmenopausal women.

Genetic Factors, Adherence to Healthy Lifestyle Behavior, and Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer Among Women in the UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is considered to result from a combination of genetic and lifestyle-related factors, but the degree to which an overall healthy lifestyle may attenuate the impact of multiple genetic variants on invasive breast cancer risk remains equivocal. METHODS: Using Cox proportional hazards regression models, we examined the association of a modified healthy lifestyle index (HLI) with risk of invasive breast cancer by genetic risk group among 146 326 women from the UK Biobank. We generated an HLI score based on a combination of diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and anthropometry, and a polygenic risk score (PRS) using 304 breast cancer-associated genetic loci. RESULTS: Among premenopausal and postmenopausal women, a favorable lifestyle (highest tertile) was associated with 22% and 31% reductions in invasive breast cancer risk, respectively (hazard ratio [HR]high vs low = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.64 to 0.94; HRhigh vs low = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.63 to 0.77, respectively), whereas a high PRS (highest tertile) was associated with more than a doubling in the risk in both groups. For premenopausal women, the greatest risk reduction in association with the HLI was seen among those with a high PRS (HRhigh vs low = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.75 to 0.95). In postmenopausal women, those with a favorable lifestyle had 30%, 29%, and 32% reductions in risk of invasive breast cancer in the low, intermediate, and high PRS groups, respectively (HRhigh vs low = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.88; HRhigh vs low = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.59 to 0.84; and HRhigh vs low = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.59 to 0.78, respectively). There was an additive but not multiplicative interaction between the HLI score and PRS for postmenopausal and, to a lesser extent, premenopausal women. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the view that an overall healthy lifestyle may attenuate the impact of genetic factors on invasive breast cancer risk among women of European ancestry.

The association between DXA-derived body fat measures and breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Most studies demonstrating an association between excess adiposity and postmenopausal breast cancer have used anthropometric measures, particularly body mass index (BMI). However, more direct body fat measures may more accurately determine the relationship between body fat distribution and breast cancer risk. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards regression models were created to examine the associations of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body fat measures (at baseline and during follow-up) with breast cancer risk among 10 931 postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative cohort. A total of 639 incident invasive breast cancer cases (including 484 estrogen receptor positive (ER+) cases) were ascertained after a median follow-up of 15.0 years. RESULTS: Excess whole body fat mass and trunk fat mass were positively associated with risk invasive breast cancer risk. These associations persisted even after additional adjustment for standard anthropometric measures. In time-dependent analyses, we observed that both whole body fat mass and trunk fat mass, in the highest versus lowest category, were associated with a doubling of risk of invasive breast cancer overall (HR: 2.17; 95% CI: 1.54-3.05 and 2.20; 1.55-3.14, respectively) and of ER+ breast cancer (2.05; 1.37-3.05 and 2.03; 1.34-3.07, respectively). The remaining DXA measures were also positively associated with breast cancer risk in baseline and time-dependent analyses. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that DXA-derived body fat measures are positively associated with breast cancer risk after adjustment for BMI and other conventional breast cancer risk factors.

Lipoprotein(a) plasma levels, bone mineral density and risk of hip fracture: a post hoc analysis of the Women's Health Initiative, USA.

OBJECTIVES: Elevated Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its roles in bone metabolism and fracture risk are unclear. We therefore investigated whether plasma Lp(a) levels were associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and incident hip fractures in a large cohort of postmenopausal women. DESIGN: Post hoc analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), USA. SETTING: 40 clinical centres in the USA. PARTICIPANTS: The current analytical cohort consisted of 9698 white, postmenopausal women enrolled in the WHI, a national prospective study investigating determinants of chronic diseases including heart disease, breast and colorectal cancers and osteoporotic fractures among postmenopausal women. Recruitment for WHI took place from 1 October 1993 to 31 December 1998. EXPOSURES: Plasma Lp(a) levels were measured at baseline. OUTCOME MEASURES: Incident hip fractures were ascertained annually and confirmed by medical records with follow-up through 29 August 2014. BMD at the femoral neck was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry in a subset of participants at baseline. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations of quartiles of plasma Lp(a) levels with hip fracture events and hip BMD T-score, respectively. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 13.8 years, 454 incident cases of hip fracture were observed. In analyses adjusting for confounding variables including age, body mass index, history of hysterectomy, smoking, physical activity, diabetes mellitus, general health status, cardiovascular disease, use of menopausal hormone therapy, use of bisphosphonates, calcitonin or selective-oestrogen receptor modulators, baseline dietary and supplemental calcium and vitamin D intake and history of fracture, no significant association of plasma Lp(a) levels with low hip BMD T-score or hip fracture risk was detected. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that plasma Lp(a) levels are not related to hip BMD T-score or hip fracture events in postmenopausal women. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00000611; Post-results.

Association of Body Fat and Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women With Normal Body Mass Index: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial and Observational Study.

Importance: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, including the estrogen receptor (ER)-positive subtype in postmenopausal women. Whether excess adiposity is associated with increased risk in women with a normal body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) is unknown. Objective: To investigate the association between body fat and breast cancer risk in women with normal BMI. Design, Setting, and Participants: This ad hoc secondary analysis of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial and observational study cohorts was restricted to postmenopausal participants with a BMI ranging from 18.5 to 24.9. Women aged 50 to 79 years were enrolled from October 1, 1993, through December 31, 1998. Of these, 3460 participants underwent body fat measurement with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 3 US designated centers with follow-up. At a median follow-up of 16 years (range, 9-20 years), 182 incident breast cancers had been ascertained, and 146 were ER positive. Follow-up was complete on September 30, 2016, and data from October 1, 1993, through September 30, 2016, was analyzed August 2, 2017, through August 21, 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: Body fat levels were measured at baseline and years 1, 3, 6, and 9 using DXA. Information on demographic data, medical history, and lifestyle factors was collected at baseline. Invasive breast cancers were confirmed via central review of medical records by physician adjudicators. Blood analyte levels were measured in subsets of participants. Results: Among the 3460 women included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 63.6 [7.6] years), multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for the risk of invasive breast cancer were 1.89 (95% CI, 1.21-2.95) for the highest quartile of whole-body fat and 1.88 (95% CI, 1.18-2.98) for the highest quartile of trunk fat mass. The corresponding adjusted hazard ratios for ER-positive breast cancer were 2.21 (95% CI, 1.23-3.67) and 1.98 (95% CI, 1.18-3.31), respectively. Similar positive associations were observed for serial DXA measurements in time-dependent covariate analyses. Circulating levels of insulin, C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, leptin, and triglycerides were higher, whereas levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and sex hormone-binding globulin were lower in those in the uppermost vs lowest quartiles of trunk fat mass. Conclusions and Relevance: In postmenopausal women with normal BMI, relatively high body fat levels were associated with an elevated risk of invasive breast cancer and altered levels of circulating metabolic and inflammatory factors. Normal BMI categorization may be an inadequate proxy for the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00000611.

The association of sleep duration and quality with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Many studies have shown a U-shaped association of sleep duration with mortality; however, this association is difficult to interpret owing to possible reverse causation, residual confounding, and measurement issues. We used data from the Women's Health Initiative to examine the associations of sleep duration, insomnia, and use of sleep aids with death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, "other" causes, and all causes combined. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards models were used in the analysis of baseline data and in time-dependent analyses of repeated measures to estimate associations of sleep-related factors with mortality. Among 158,203 women with information regarding sleep, 30,400 total deaths, 8857 CVD deaths, 9284 cancer deaths, and 11,928 other deaths were ascertained over a median of 17.8 years. RESULTS: In both baseline and time-dependent analyses, both short (≤5 h) and long sleep (≥9 h) durations were associated with increased risk of total, CVD, and "other" deaths, but not with cancer deaths. Insomnia showed no association with mortality, whereas use of sleep medications was associated with an increased mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: While our findings showed a small but robust association of sleep duration with mortality in postmenopausal women, studies including objective measurements of sleep quality and efficiency are needed to clarify these associations.

Reproductive factors, exogenous hormone use, and risk of pancreatic cancer in postmenopausal women.

INTRODUCTION: The epidemiologic literature on menstrual and reproductive factors associated with pancreatic cancer has yielded weak and inconsistent evidence of an association. Furthermore, few cohort studies have examined the association of exogenous hormone use, including type and duration, with this disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association of these exposures with risk of pancreatic cancer in a large cohort of postmenopausal women. METHODS: We used data from the Women's Health Initiative on 1003 cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed among 158,298 participants over 14.3 years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations of interest. RESULTS: Being parous vs. nulliparous was associated with reduced risk (HR=0.84, 95% CI 0.70-1.00), and women who had 1-2 and 3-4 births were at decreased risk compared to nulliparous women, whereas women who had >5 births showed no decrease in risk. Compared to women who gave birth between the ages of 20-29, women who gave birth at age 30 or above were at increased risk (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.00-1.53, p for trend 0.003). Other reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use were not associated with risk. CONCLUSIONS: Together with the existing literature on this topic, our results suggest that reproductive and hormonal exposures are unlikely to play an important role in the etiology of pancreatic cancer.

Adherence to cancer prevention guidelines and cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and total mortality: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Several health agencies have issued guidelines promoting behaviors to reduce chronic disease risk; however, little is known about the impact of such guidelines, particularly on cancer incidence. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine whether greater adherence to the American Cancer Society (ACS) cancer prevention guidelines is associated with a reduction in cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and total mortality. DESIGN: The NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, a prospective cohort study of 566,401 adults aged 50-71 y at recruitment in 1995-1996, was followed for a median of 10.5 y for cancer incidence, 12.6 y for cancer mortality, and 13.6 y for total mortality. Participants who reported a history of cancer or who had missing data were excluded, yielding 476,396 subjects for analysis. We constructed a 5-level score measuring adherence to ACS guidelines, which included baseline body mass index, physical activity, alcohol intake, and several aspects of diet. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute HRs and 95% CIs for the association of the adherence score with cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and total mortality. All analyses included fine adjustment for cigarette smoking. RESULTS: Among 476,396 participants, 73,784 incident first cancers, 16,193 cancer deaths, and 81,433 deaths from all causes were identified in the cohort. Adherence to ACS guidelines was associated with reduced risk of all cancers combined: HRs (95% CIs) for the highest compared with the lowest level of adherence were 0.90 (0.87, 0.93) in men and 0.81 (0.77, 0.84) in women. Fourteen of 25 specific cancer sites showed a reduction in risk associated with increased adherence. Adherence was also associated with reduced cancer mortality [HRs (95% CIs) were 0.75 (0.70, 0.80) in men and 0.76 (0.70, 0.83) in women] and reduced all-cause mortality [HRs (95% CIs) were 0.74 (0.72, 0.76) in men and 0.67 (0.65, 0.70) in women]. CONCLUSIONS: In both men and women, adherence to the ACS guidelines was associated with reductions in all-cancer incidence and the incidence of cancer at specific sites, as well as with reductions in cancer mortality and total mortality. These data suggest that, after accounting for cigarette smoking, adherence to a set of healthy behaviors may have considerable health benefits.