Association of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and demographic risk factors with breast cancer in Bangladeshi women

In recent years, breast cancer incidences and related deaths have been rising among Bangladeshi women and will be a major threat by 2040. So, conducting more population-based studies is crucial. This case-control study was designed to quantitatively evaluate potential risk factors for breast cancer. In this population-based case-control study, 52 random breast cancer cases and 59 matched healthy controls, aged between 25 and 70 years, were included. The breast cancer patient samples were collected from the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from December 2021 to February 2022. The study was conducted fully following the Declaration of Helsinki guidelines. The collected socio-demographic data and blood samples of the study participants were analyzed. Chi-square analysis was used to compare study characteristics between cases and controls, Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived by univariate-logistic regression, and models were adjusted where necessary for study characteristics. Summary demographic characteristics of the 111 study participants suggested that higher age: (≥45): [OR 4.38, 95% CI (1.94–9.89), P value <.001], height: (<1.5 m): [OR 3.01, 95% CI (1.12–8.12), P value .029], low-incomes: [OR 6.83, 95% CI (2.11–22.05), P value .001], and illiteracy: [OR 12.65, 95% CI (3.49–45.79), P value .0001] showed significant correlations with breast cancer. The patient’s body mass index (BMI) (≥30) indicated an association with breast cancer: [OR 3.91, 95% CI (1.00–15.31), P value .05]. The lipid profile: [triglycerides (TG): OR = 3.20, 95% CI (1.36–7.53), P value .008; TG/high-density lipid (HDL): OR = 8.82, 95% CI (2.81–27.68), P value <.001; and a lowered HDL: OR = 3.32, 95% CI (1.38–7.98), P value .007], hypertension: [systolic: OR 4.32, 95% CI (1.71–10.93), P value .002; and diastolic: OR 7.32, 95% CI (2.51–21.34), P value <.001], and gastric issues: [OR 6.07, 95% CI (2.00–18.37), P value .001], all showed significant association with breast cancer. The ER- breast cancer subtype was significantly associated with the overweight (OW) group (P value .046) whereas the PR-patients were significantly higher in the normal BMI group (P value .013). Results from this study might aid in the prevention, management, and raising of awareness against the specific risk factors among Bangladeshi women in near future.