Recreational physical activity and ovarian cancer risk in African American women

摘要

The literature on recreational physical activity (RPA) and ovarian cancer risk is inconclusive and most studies of RPA and ovarian cancer have been conducted in white populations. This study is the first to investigate the association between RPA and ovarian cancer in an exclusively African American (AA) population. We analyzed data from an ongoing U.S. population‐based, case–control study of AA women, which included 393 women recently diagnosed with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (IEOC) and 611 controls. A baseline interview assessed RPA frequency, intensity, and duration. Each RPA intensity was assigned a metabolic equivalent of task (MET) value and MET‐min/week were calculated. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression was performed to investigate associations between RPA and IEOC risk. Compared with sedentary women, predominantly mild intensity RPA was significantly inversely associated with IEOC risk for women reporting above median (>297) MET‐min/week (odds ratio [ style="fixed-case">OR] = 0.52; 95% confidence interval [ style="fixed-case">CI]: 0.34, 0.78) and nonsignificantly for <297 style="fixed-case">MET‐min/week ( style="fixed-case">OR = 0.71; 95% style="fixed-case">CI: 0.44, 1.12). Predominantly moderate intensity style="fixed-case">RPA was associated with significantly increased risk for women reporting above median ( class="underline">>540) style="fixed-case">MET‐min/week ( style="fixed-case">OR = 1.51; 95% style="fixed-case">CI: 1.03, 2.23). Predominantly strenuous intensity style="fixed-case">RPA was nonsignificantly associated with lower style="fixed-case">IEOC risk for women reporting above median ( class="underline">>1800) style="fixed-case">MET‐min/week ( style="fixed-case">OR = 0.72; 95% style="fixed-case">CI: 0.33, 1.57). The inverse associations for mild and strenuous intensity style="fixed-case">RPA were most pronounced in obese women (body mass index class="underline">>30 kg/m²). The findings that mild and strenuous style="fixed-case">RPA may reduce the risk of style="fixed-case">IEOC particularly among obese women are difficult to reconcile with the increased risk observed for moderate style="fixed-case">RPA. Further research is warranted to determine whether these findings are genuine and, if so, their mechanistic basis.