Dietary Fat and Physical Activity in Relation to Breast Cancer among Polish Women

Background: Dietary fat has been inconsistently associated with the risk of breast cancer. The purpose ofthis study was to examine the relationship between meat and animal and plant fat intake and breast cancer riskin subgroups by total lifetime physical activity, using data from a case-control study conducted in the Region ofWestern Pomerania, Poland. Materials and
Methods: The study included 858 women with histological confirmedbreast cancer and 1,085 controls, free of any cancer diagnosis. The study was based on a self-administeredquestionnaire including questions about socio-demographic characteristics, current weight and height,reproductive factors, family history of breast cancer and lifestyle habits. Unconditional logistic regression wasperformed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: High animal fat intakesignificantly increased OR from 1.7 times (OR=1.66, 95%CI=1.07-3.59) to 2.9 times (OR=2.9, 95%CI=1.37-6.14) independent of physical activity level, comparing the third versus the lowest quartile. Women with a highintake of red meat or processed meat and low physical activity showed increased risk of breast cancer: OR=2.70,95%CI=1.21-6.03 and 1.78, 95%CI=1.04-3.59, respectively. The plant fat dietary pattern was negatively associatedwith breast cancer in sedentary women (OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.32-0.99).
Conclusions: These results indicatedthat a diet characterized by a high consumption of animal fat is associated with a higher breast cancer risk insedentary women, while consumption of plant fat products may reduce risk in the same group.