Age-Specific Breast Density Changes in Taiwanese Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Yu-San Liao, Jia-Yu Zhang, Yuan-Chi Hsu, Min-Xuan Hong and Li-Wen Lee
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Yu-San Liao: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yunlin 63862, Taiwan
Jia-Yu Zhang: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yunlin 63862, Taiwan
Yuan-Chi Hsu: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yunlin 63862, Taiwan
Min-Xuan Hong: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yunlin 63862, Taiwan
Li-Wen Lee: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Breast density is a risk factor for breast cancer. This study explored distribution of mammographic density quantitatively and qualitatively in a wide age range of Taiwanese women. Subjects with negative and benign mammographic findings were included. According to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System, the proportion of extremely dense breasts declined from 58.0% in women < 30 years to 1.9% in women > 74 years. More than 80% of mammograms in women < 55 years old were classified as extremely or heterogeneously dense, while the proportion of dense breasts was still high in women aged 60–64 years (59.3%). The absolute dense area of the breast declined from 35.8% in women < 30 years to 18.5% in women > 74 years. The correlation between breast density and age was significant, with and without controlling for the effect of body composition ( p < 0.001), implying that the relationship between breast density and age was not wholly related to body composition. In conclusion, the higher breast density in Taiwanese women aged 60–64 years was comparable to that of Western women aged 40–44 years in the literature. This suggests that breast cancer screening using mammography may be more challenging for Asian women than for Western women of the same age.

Keywords: age; mammography; breast composition; mammographic density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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