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Wearing bra did not increase breast cancer risk
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Wearing a bra did not increase risk for breast cancer among postmenopausal women, according to results of a population-based case–control study.
“There have been some concerns that one of the reasons why breast cancer may be more common in developed countries compared with developing countries is differences in bra-wearing patterns,” researcher Lu Chen, MPH, of the public health sciences division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said in a press release. “Given how common bra wearing is, we thought this was an important question to address.”
Lu Chen
In the analysis, researchers used data from a population-based case-control study focusing on the differences in risk factors for the two most common subtypes of breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma. The study population included 454 patients with ductal carcinoma and 590 women with lobular carcinoma, as well as a frequency matching control group (n=469). All participants were postmenopausal.
The researchers conducted in-person interviews of patients with breast cancer and control participants, gathering anthropometric data, reproductive histories, family history of cancer, use of hormone therapy, and other possible risk factors for breast cancer. Information on bra-wearing habits also was collected and classified based on prevalence in the study population.
The researchers considered the following factors: bra cup sizes 1 year before the reference date; current and lifetime hours per day of bra usage; history and current use of an underwire bra, average hours per day usage of bras with or without underwire; and the age at which the participant first began wearing a bra.
Polytomous logistic regression was used to calculate multivariate adjusted ORs and 95% CIs.
The researchers found no correlation between risk for breast cancer (both subtypes) and any aspect of bra use, including bra cup size, how recently a bra was worn, average number of hours/day worn, use of an underwire bra, or age of first bra use.
There was some indication that women who wore an A-cup bra were at increased risk for ductal carcinoma (OR=1.9; 95% CI, 1-3.6) and lobular carcinoma (OR=1.8; 95% CI, 1-3.3), but these trends did not reach statistical significance.
“There has been some suggestion in the lay media that bra wearing may be a risk factor for breast cancer. Some have hypothesized that drainage of waste products in and around the breast may be hampered by bra wearing,” Chen said in the press release. “Given very limited biological evidence supporting such a link between bra wearing and breast cancer risk, our results were not surprising.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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