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. METHODS: Women (n = 2,318) without a history of breast cancer underwent mammographic screening at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, from 2006 to 2014. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) satellite data at 1-km(2) resolution were used to estimate greenness at participants’ residential address 1, 3, and 5 years before mammogram. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate differences in log-transformed volumetric mammographic density measures and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each 0.1 unit increase in NDVI. RESULTS: Five-year annual average NDVI was not associated with percent mammographic density in premenopausal (β = –0.01; 95% CI = –0.03, 0.02; P = 0.58) and postmenopausal women (β = –0.02; 95% CI = –0.04, 0.01; P = 0.18). Results were similar for 1-year and 3-year NDVI measures and in models including potential mediators of BMI and physical activity. There were also no associations between greenness and dense volume and nondense volume. CONCLUSIONS: Greenness exposures were not associated with mammographic density. IMPACT: Prior observations of a protective association between greenness and breast cancer may not be driven by differences in breast tissue composition, as measured by mammographic density, but rather other mechanisms.