Table 1

Characteristics of women by breast density category, and odds ratios for association with denser breast category (n = 157)

Characteristic
Entirely fatty (n = 20)
Heterogeneously dense (n = 44)
Scattered fibroglandular tissue (n = 54)
Extremely dense (n = 39)
Age-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval)a

Age (years)
54.1 ± 1.0
53.9 ± 0.9
48.7 ± 0.6
47.4 ± 0.7
0.4 (0.3–0.6)b
College graduate (%)c
55
72
72
84
1.5 (0.8–3.0)
Body mass index (kg/m2)
33.3 ± 7.1
28.3 ± 6.1
24.8 ± 4.4
23.8 ± 3.0
0.8 (0.8–0.9)
Age at menarche (years)
12.4 ± 1.3
12.3 ± 1.3
12.5 ± 1.4
13.1 ± 1.8
1.3 (1.1–1.6)
Number of live birthsc
3.1 ± 1.4
2.5 ± 1.6
2.6 ± 0.9
1.9 ± 1.0
0.8 (0.6–1.0)
Age at first birth (years)c
23.7 ± 5.9
25.6 ± 4.1
27.4 ± 5.8
29.5 ± 5.1
1.1 (1.0–1.2)
Ever breastfedc
30
72
63
75
1.0 (0.4–2.7)
Postmenopausal
65
66
33
28
0.5 (0.3–1.2)
Ever used hormonal contraceptives
45
41
63
37
0.8 (0.5–1.4)
Ever used hormone replacement medicined
85
45
56
36
0.4 (0.2–1.0)
Weekly physical activity (hours)
2.9 ± 2.9
3.6 ± 3.0
3.5 ± 2.9
2.9 ± 2.5
1.0 (0.8–1.1)
Smoking status





     ∘ Never smoked
50
49
57
61
1.0
     ∘ Former smoker
45
49
39
26
0.6 (0.3–1.1)
     ∘ Current smoker
5
2
4
13
2.0 (0.5–7.6)
Family history of breast cancer





     ∘ Negative or sporadic
15
30
22
10
1.0
     ∘ Familial
35
45
33
33
1.3 (0.6–2.9)
     ∘ Hereditary
50
25
44
56
1.8 (0.8–4.0)

Characteristics data presented as the mean ± standard deviation or as the percentage. aOdds ratios adjusted for age except for the age variable. bOdds ratio for 10-year age increment. c Because of missing responses, analyses included only 155 women for education level, 125 women for number of live births, 120 parous women for age at first live birth, and 74 parous women for breastfeeding. dAnalysis conducted among 70 postmenopausal women.

Tseng et al. Breast Cancer Research 2007 9:R72   doi:10.1186/bcr1781