MDNews - Long Island

A Focus on Women BY STEVE BARRETT RECENT DATA PAINT AN AL ARMING PORTR AIT OF THRE ATS TO WOMEN'S HE ALTH. HEAVY COST OF LIGHTING UP DO YOUR FEMALE patients need more reasons not to smoke — a nd not to ha ng a round when others do? Tr y this: Based on infor mation gat hered f rom more t ha n 93,000 women, a n obser vationa l st udy in t he jour na l Tobacco Control lin ks smoking to both infer tilit y a nd ea rly menopause. + Among women with the greatest level of exposure to tobacco — both active and passive — menopause occurred between one and two years earlier than among women who had never smoked nor been exposed to secondhand smoke, according to researchers. Menopause was 26% more likely to occur among women younger than 50 if they were current or former smokers. + Risk of infertility was approximately 14% higher among current or former smokers than among those who had never smoked. Sources: Tobacco Control; The Washington Post; The New York Times; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; National Institute on Aging DUBIOUS RACIAL MILESTONE THE HISTORICA LLY LOW ER incidence of breast cancer among black women than among white women in the U.S. has partially offset the fact that breast cancer tends to be deadlier among black women who develop the disease. But increas- ing rates of breast cancer among black women have closed the incidence gap. The American Cancer Society reported recently that the disease is now as common among black women as it is among white women. Researchers hypothesize a number of possible factors behind the increase. Higher rates of obesity among black women may be key. Other reasons could be the decision by rising numbers of black women to delay having children and to have fewer children, which can contribute to breast cancer development. ■ BLACK WOMEN 62 WHITE WOMEN 68 CANCER AND PERIODONTAL DISEASE IN A STUDY of more than 73,000 postmenopausal women who had not previously had breast cancer, the risk of subsequently developing the disease was 14% greater if a woman had had periodontal disease. The increased risk for breast cancer was 36% for women who had periodontal disease and had smoked within the past 20 years, according to the study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 0.0 0.5 % 1.0 % 1.5 % 2.0 % 2.5 % 35–39 50–54 40–44 55–59 65–69 45–49 60–64 70–74 R I S I N G R I S K 5 An age breakdown of the risk that a woman will develop breast cancer in the next YEARS MEDIAN AGE OF DEATH FROM BREAST CANCER The average age at which menopause o c c u r s i s 51 SEASONS OF LIFE AGE SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: WOMEN'S HEALTH 2 1 M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S L O N G I S L A N D ■ 2 016

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