The scope of this study is to verify the association between body fat distribution and breast cancer in women in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Case-control methodology was used in this study, in which 100 women with a histopathological diagnosis of breast cancer were compared to an out-patient control group (400 women) between January and October 2005. The anthropometric variables collected were: body mass (kg), height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference. No association was found between the body mass index (BMI) and the waist/hip ratio (WHR) with the occurrence of breast cancer. In relation to WC, it was observed that women with a high measurement (> 88 cm) showed 2.08 times greater chance of developing the disease than those with normal or moderate measurements (< 80 cm-87 cm). When these women were grouped by (pre- and post-) menopausal state and anthropometric variables, only WC showed an adjusted OR association=3.15. The accumulation of fat in the upper part of the body (WC> 88 cm) is a predisposing factor for breast cancer, especially in pre-menopausal women.
Anthropometry; Abdominal obesity; Breast cancer; Case-control study
