Placental morphometry in relation to daughters’ percent mammographic breast density at midlife

Abstract

Intrauterine and early-life exposures, including intrauterine smoke exposures and infant growth are associated with mammographic breast density (MBD), a strong breast cancer risk factor. We investigated whether placental morphometry, which is affected by intrauterine smoke exposure and also influences infant growth, predicts %MBD at ages 37–47. In 247 daughters in the Child Health and Development Studies, we found that larger placental surface area and placental thickness were associated with lower %MBD (−0.32 per cm2, 95% CI −0.6, −0.05; −37.8 per 0.5 cm, 95% CI= −73.3, −2.3 respectively) independent of mothers’ smoking, age, weight, parity and daughters’ birthweight and age at mammogram. We also observed a positive interaction between placental surface area and thickness (p < 0.05) such that the highest breast dense area was observed for offspring with the thickest and largest placentas. Factors that impact placental morphometry, in addition to in utero smoke exposure, may influence adult breast architecture and breast cancer risk.