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Associations of Physical Activity With Breast Cancer Risk: Findings From the UK Biobank Prospective Cohort Study

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Solange Parra-Soto School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Department of Nutrition and Public Health, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chillan, Chile

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8443-7327
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Craig Tumblety School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5463-9382
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Carolina Araya School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1196-8482
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Leandro F.M. Rezende Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Universidade Federal do São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7469-1399
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Frederick K. Ho School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7190-9025
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Jill P. Pell School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8898-7035
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Carlos Celis-Morales School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Human Performance Lab, Education, Physical Activity and Health Research Unit, University Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2612-3917 *
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0437
Keywords:
accelerometer; longitudinal study; neoplasms; exercise
First Published Online:
13 Feb 2023
In Print:
Volume 20: Issue 4
Page Range:
272–278
Restricted access

Purpose: Although physical activity (PA) has been consistently associated with breast cancer, existing evidence is limited to self-reported physical activity, which is prone to dilution bias. Therefore, this aims to examine the associations of device-measured PA domains with breast cancer risk and whether it differs by menopausal status. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Data from 48,286 women from the UK Biobank cohort were analyzed. A wrist triaxial accelerometer was used to collect physical activity data for light, moderate, vigorous, moderate to vigorous, and total PA. Cox proportional models were performed to examine the association between PA domains, menopausal status, and breast cancer risk. Results: Eight hundred thirty-six breast cancer cases were diagnosed during a median of 5.4 years (interquartile range: 4.7–5.9). For total PA, those in the most active quartile had a 26% lower risk of breast cancer (Hazard ratio [HR]: 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61–0.91) compared with those least active. Similar results were observed for light PA (HR: 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64–0.96), and moderate to vigorous PA (HR: 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64–0.96). However, moderate PA (HR: 0.73; 95% CI, 0.44–1.19) and vigorous PA (HR: 0.77; 95% CI, 0.56–1.05) was nonsignificant. No evidence of interaction between PA domains and menopause status was found (P > .10). Conclusion: High levels of PA are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer with similar magnitude of associations observed across different intensity domains.

Supplementary Materials

    • Supplementary Figure S1 (PDF 181 KB)
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    • Supplementary Table S1 (PDF 198 KB)
    • Supplementary Table S2 (PDF 224 KB)
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