Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

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Author: search.filters.author.McTiernan, AnneSubject: search.filters.subject.postmenopausal women

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    Recreational Physical Activity and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women
    (2003) McTiernan, Anne; Kooperberg, Charles; White, Emily; Wilcox, Sara; Coates, Ralph; Adams-Campbell, Lucile L.; Woods, Nancy; Ockene, Judith
    Context Women who are physically active have a decreased risk for breast cancer, but the types, amounts, and timing of activity needed are unknown. Objective To prospectively examine the association between current and past recreational physical activity and incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Design, Setting, and Patients Prospective cohort study in 74 171 women aged 50 to 79 years who were recruited by 40 US clinical centers from 1993 through 1998. Main Outcome Measure Incident invasive and in situ breast cancer. Results We documented 1780 newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer over a mean follow-up of 4.7 years. Compared with less active women, women who engaged in regular strenuous physical activity at age 35 years had a 14% decreased risk of breast cancer (relative risk [RR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.95). Similar but attenuated findings were observed for strenuous physical activity at ages 18 years and 50 years. An increasing total current physical activity score was associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer (P = .03 for trend). Women who engaged in the equivalent of 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of brisk walking had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.97) compared with inactive women. Slightly greater reduction in risk was observed for women who engaged in the equivalent of 10 hours or more per week of brisk walking. The effect of exercise was most pronounced in women in the lowest tertile of body mass index (BMI) (<24.1), but also was observed for women in the middle tertile of BMI (24.1-28.4). Conclusions These data suggest that increased physical activity is associated with reduced risk for breast cancer in postmenopausal women, longer duration provides most benefit, and that such activity need not be strenuous.
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    Effects of Exercise on Total and Intra-abdominal Body Fat in Postmenopausal Women
    (2003) Irwin, Melinda L.; Yasui, Yutaka; Ulrich, Cornelia M.; Bowen, Deborah; Rudolph, Rebecca E.; Schwartz, Robert S.; Yukawa, Michi; Aiello, Erin; Potter, John D.; McTiernan, Anne
    Context The increasing prevalence of obesity is a major public health concern. Physical activity may promote weight and body fat loss. Objective To examine the effects of exercise on total and intra-abdominal body fat overall and by level of exercise. Design Randomized controlled trial conducted from 1997 to 2001. Setting and Participants A total of 173 sedentary, overweight (body mass index 24.0 and >33% body fat), postmenopausal women aged 50 to 75 years who were living in the Seattle, Wash, area. Intervention Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention consisting of exercise facility and home-based moderate-intensity exercise (n = 87) or a stretching control group (n = 86). Main Outcome Measure Changes in body weight and waist and hip circumferences at 3 and 12 months; total body, intra-abdominal, and subcutaneous abdominal fat at 12 months. Results Twelve-month data were available for 168 women. Women in the exercise group participated in moderate-intensity sports/recreational activity for a mean (SD) of 3.5 (1.2) d/wk for 176 (91) min/wk. Walking was the most frequently reported activity. Exercisers showed statistically significant differences from controls in baseline to 12-month changes in body weight (–1.4 kg; 95% confidence interval [CI], –2.5 to –0.3 kg), total body fat (–1.0%; 95% CI, –1.6% to –0.4%), intra-abdominal fat (–8.6 g/cm2; 95% CI, –17.8 to 0.9 g/cm2), and subcutaneous abdominal fat (–28.8 g/cm2; 95% CI, –47.5 to –10.0 g/cm2). A significant dose response for greater body fat loss was observed with increasing duration of exercise. Conclusions Regular exercise such as brisk walking results in reduced body weight and body fat among overweight and obese postmenopausal women.