Abstract
BackgroundFrequent sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been associated with indirect markers of breast cancer risk, such as weight gain in adolescents and early menarche. How SSB intake relates to breast composition in adolescent girls has not been explored.MethodsWe evaluated the association between prospective intake of SSB and breast density in a cohort of 374 adolescent girls participating in the Growth and Obesity Cohort Study in Santiago, Chile. Multivariable linear regression models were used to analyze the association between average daily SSB intake quartiles and breast composition (absolute fibroglandular volume [aFGV], percent fibroglandular volume [%FGV], total breast volume [tBV]). Models were adjusted for potential confounding by BMI Z-score, age, daily energy intake (g/day), maternal education, hours of daily television watching after school, dairy intake (g/day), meat intake (g/day), waist circumference, and menarche. To examine the sensitivity of the association to the number of dietary recalls for each girl, analyses were further stratified by girls with one dietary recall and girls with > one dietary recall.ResultsA total of 881 dietary recalls were available for 374 girls prior to the breast density assessment. More than 60% of the cohort had > one dietary recall available. In multivariable analyses, we found no association between SSB intake quartile and aFGV (Q2 vs Q1 β: − 5.4, 95% CI − 15.1, 4.4; Q3 vs Q1 β: 1.3, 95% CI − 8.6, 11.3; Q4 vs Q1 β: 3.0, 95% CI − 7.1, 13). No associations were noted for %FGV and tBV. Among girls with at least one dietary recall, we found no significant associations between SSB intake quartiles and %FGV, aFGV, or tBV.ConclusionOverall, we observed no evidence that SSB intake was associated with breast density in adolescent Chilean girls.
Highlights
Frequent sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been associated with indirect markers of breast cancer risk, such as weight gain in adolescents and early menarche
We have previously found an association between more frequent intake of sweetened artificially-flavored milkbased drinks and higher breast density among Chilean girls participating in the Growth and Obesity Cohort Study (GOCS) [27]
This study includes 374 girls participating in GOCS assessed for breast development at Tanner stage 4 or 5 with at least one prospective 24H dietary recall (Fig. 1)
Summary
Frequent sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake has been associated with indirect markers of breast cancer risk, such as weight gain in adolescents and early menarche. Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs)-of which SSBs are a major component—have been related to breast cancer risk, acting through hypothesized mechanisms involving higher glycemic response or inflammation due to chemical additives [23]. This suggests that intake of SSBs may influence breast density and breast cancer risk through several pathways. One study has examined the association of SSBs to adult mammographic density: in a Canadian cohort, mean absolute density was higher among women in the highest quartiles of SSB intake compared to those in the lowest [10]
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