Recreational physical activity is associated with reduced breast cancer risk in adult women at high risk for breast cancer: a cohort study of women selected for familial and genetic risk

While physical activity is associated with lower breast cancer risk for average-risk women, it is not known if this association applies to women at high familial/genetic risk. We examined the association of recreational physical activity (self-reported by questionnaire) with breast cancer risk using the Prospective Family Study Cohort (ProF-SC), which is enriched with women who have a breast cancer family history (N=15,550). We examined associations of adult and adolescent recreational physical activity (quintiles of age-adjusted total metabolic equivalents (METs) per week) with breast cancer risk using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for demographics, lifestyle factors, and body mass index. We tested for multiplicative interactions of physical activity with predicted absolute breast cancer familial risk based on pedigree data and with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation status. Baseline recreational physical activity level in the highest 4 quintiles compared with the lowest quintile was associated with a 20% lower breast cancer risk (HR=0.80, 95% CI=0.68, 0.93). The association was not modified by familial risk or BRCA mutation status (p-interactions>0.05). No overall association was found for adolescent recreational physical activity. Recreational physical activity in adulthood may lower breast cancer risk for women across the spectrum of familial risk.