Skip to main content
Log in

Serum lipids and breast cancer risk: a cohort study of 5,207 Danish women

  • Research Papers
  • Published:
Cancer Causes & Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript

The association between serum lipids and breast cancer risk was investigated in a cohort of 5,207 Danish women, who participated in The Glostrup Population Studies between 1964 and 1986. During four to 26 years of follow-up, 51 incident cases of breast cancer were identified by linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry. At the time of lipid measurement, the women were between 30 and 80 years of age. An inverse association was found between serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and risk of breast cancer, which was not changed by adjustment for potential confounders such as social class, age at menarche and menopause, number of full-term pregnancies, body mass index, or alcohol and coffee consumption. The relative risk was 0.3 (95 percent confidence interval = 0,1–0.8) for women in the highest quartile of serum HDL-cholesterol compared with women in the lowest quartile and the relation displayed a significant negative trend (P = 0.01). For serum triglycerides there was a suggestion of a positive association with breast cancer incidence, but the trend was not significant (P = 0.06). No relationship between total serum cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and risk of breast cancer was observed. Risk estimates for well known breast cancer risk factors such as social class, age at menopause, number of full-term pregnancies, and obesity were in the directions expected.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kelsey JL, Gammon MD. Epidemiology of breast cancer. Epidemiol Reviews 1990; 12: 228–40.

    Google Scholar 

  2. International Collaborative Study Group. Metabolic epidemiology of plasma cholesterol. Mechanisms of variation of plasma cholesterol within populations and between populations. Lancet 1986; ii: 991–7.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Shekelle RB, Shryock AM, Paul O, et al. Diet, serum cholesterol, and death from coronary disease: the Western electric study. N Engl J Med 1981; 304: 65–70.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Keys AB. Seven Countries: A Multivariate Analysis of Death and Coronary Disease. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Dyer AR, Stamler J, Paul O, et al. Serum cholesterol and risk of death from cancer and other causes in three Chicago epidemiological studies. J Chron Dis 1981; 34: 249–60.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Kark JD, Smith AH, Hames CG. The relationship of serum cholesterol to the incidence of cancer in Evans County, Georgia. J Chron Dis 1980; 33: 311–22.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Morris DL, Borhani NO, Fitzsimon E, et al. Serum cholesterol and cancer in a hypertension detection and follow-up program. Cancer 1983; 52: 1754–9.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Williams RK, Sorlie PD, Feinleib M, McNamara PM, Kannel WB, Dawber TR. Cancer incidence by levels of cholesterol. JAMA 1981; 245: 247–52.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hiatt RA, Friedman GD, Bawol RD, Ury HK. Breast cancer and serum cholesterol. JNCL 1982; 68: 885–9.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Törnberg SA, Holm LE, Carstensen JM. Breast cancer risk in relation to serum cholesterol, serum β-lipoprotein, height, weight and blood pressure. Acta Oncologica 1988; 126: 922–8.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Gordon T. The diet-heart idea: outline of a history. Am J Epidemiol 1988; 127: 220–5.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Lapidus L, Helgesson Ö, Merck C, Björntorp P. Adipose tissue distribution and female carcinomas. A 12-year follow-up of participants in the population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Int J Obesity 1988; 12: 316–68.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Vatten LJ, Foss OP, Total serum cholesterol and triglycerides and risk of breast cancer: a prospective study of 24,329 Norwegian women. Cancer Res 1990; 50: 2341–6.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wallace RB, Rost C, Burmeister LF, Pomrehn PR. Cahcer incidence in humans: Relationship to plasma lipids and relative weight. JNCI 1982; 69: 915–8.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hagerup L, Eriksen M, Schroll M, Hollnagel H, Agner E, Larsen S. The Glostrup Population Studies. Collection of epidemiologic tables. J Soc Med 1987; suppl 20.

  16. WHO MONICA Project Principal Investigations. The World Health Organization MONICA Project (Monitoring Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease): a major international collaboration. J Clin Epidemiol 1988; 2: 105–14.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sjøl A, Schroll M. The cardiovascular risk profile in the Glostrup region, MONICA Screening II 1986/87 (in Danish). Ugeskr Læger 1990; 152: 3449–55.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Rasmussen BK, Jensen R, Schroll M, Olesen J. Prevalence of migraine, tension type headache and other headache disorders in a general population using the new international diagnostic criteria. Int J Clin Epidemiol (in press).

  19. Keyfitz N. Applied Mathematical Demography. New York; Wiley, 1977: 45.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Sjøl A, Grunnet K, Schroll M. Secular trends in serum cholesterol, high density lipoproteins and triglycerides 1964–1987. Int J Epidemiol 1991; 20: 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Freidewald WT, Levy RI, Frederickson DS. Estimation of the concentration of low density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Clin Chem 1972; 18: 499–502.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Storm HH. Completeness of cancer registration in Denmark 1943–1966 and efficacy of record linkage procedures. Int J Epidemiol 1988; 17: 44–9.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Lynge E. A follow-up study of cancer incidence among workers in manufacture of phenoxy herbicides in Denmark. Br J Cancer 1985; 52: 259–70.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Lund K, Ewertz M, Schou G. Breast cancer incidence subsequent to surgical reduction of the female breast. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg 1987; 21: 209–12.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Raffn E, Lynge E, Juel K, Korsgaard B. Incidence of cancer and mortality among employees in asbestos cement industry in Denmark. Br J Ind Med 1989; 46: 90–6.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Guenel P, Højberg G, Lynge E. Cancer incidence among Danish stone workers. Scand J Work Environ Health 1989; 15: 265–70.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical Methods in Cancer Research. Vol II. Lyon, France: International Agency for Cancer Research, 1987; IARC Sci. Pub. No. 82: 151.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Payne RW, Lane PW, Ainsley AE, et al. Genstat 5 Reference Manual. Oxford, Clarendon Press: 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Bennion LJ, Grundy SM. Risk factors for the development of cholelithiasis in man. N Engl J Med 1978; 299: 1221–7.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Miettinen TA. Cholesterol production in obsity. Circulation 1971; 44: 842–50.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Nestel PJ, Schreibman PH, Ahrens EHJr. Cholesterol metabolism in human obesity. J Clin Invest 1973; 52: 2389–97.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Lieber CS, Jones DP, Mendelson J, De Carli LM. Fatty liver, hyperlipidaemia, and hyperuriamia produced by prolonged alcohol consumption, despite adequate dietary intake. Trans Assoc Am Physicians 1963; 76: 289–300.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Bonaa K, Arnesen E, Thelle DS, Forde OH. Coffee and cholesterol: Is it all in the brewing? The Tromsö study. BR Med J 1988; 297: 1102–4.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Pietinen D, Aro A, Taumilehto J, Uusitalo U, Korhonen H. Consumption of boiled coffee is correlated with serum cholesterol in Finland. Int J Epidemiol 1990; 19: 586–90.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Stensvold I, Tverdal A, Foss OP. The effect of coffee on blood lipids and blood pressure. Results from a Norwegian cross-sectional study, men and women 40–42 years. J Clin Epidemiol 1989; 42: 877–84.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Matthews KA, Meilahn E, Kuller LH, et al. Menopause and risk factors for coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med 1989; 321: 641–6.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Morrison JA, Laskarzewski PM, Rauh JL, et al. Lipids, lipoproteins and sexual maturation during adolescence: the Princeton maturation study. Metabolism 1979; 28: 641–9.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Van Stiphout WAH, Hofman A. De Bruijn AM. Serum lipids in young women before, during and after pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol 1987; 126: 922–8.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Additional information

Dr Høyer and Ms Engholm are with the Danish Cancer Registry, Copenhagen, Denmark; Dr Høyer is also with The Glostrup Population Studies, Glostrup, Denmark. Address correspondence to Dr Høyer at The Danish Cancer Registry, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Rosenvangets Hovedvej 35, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. This study was funded by Sygekassernes Helsefond DK, Sundhedspuljen DK and the Danish Cancer Society.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Høyer, A.P., Engholm, G. Serum lipids and breast cancer risk: a cohort study of 5,207 Danish women. Cancer Causes Control 3, 403–408 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051352

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00051352

Key words

Navigation