Abstract PO-218: Body mass index, age at diagnosis, and mammography screening behaviors in women diagnosed with breast cancer in Puerto Rico
Authors: Lantz Abigail E. , Cress William D. , Bahr Allison , Gordián Edna , Perez-Morales Jaileene , Flores Idhaliz , Rojas María 
Published: January 2022

The breast cancer mortality rate in Puerto Rican women is higher when compared to Hispanic women in the United States, despite having similar incidence. While disparities are well documented between Non-Hispanic Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic populations have not been explored as thoroughly. Previous studies have identified high Body Mass Index (BMI) as a risk factor in postmenopausal breast cancer. Breast cancer incidence tends to increase with age, but younger age of diagnosis may be related to more aggressive disease. Studies have demonstrated that mammogram and continuous breast cancer screening can reduce mortality through early detection. Our study focuses on characterizing BMI, age at diagnosis, and screening information in Puerto Rican women obtained from a patient survey administered by the Puerto Rico BioBank (PRBB). These factors may contribute to the observed disparity in breast cancer mortality in these patients. Data abstracted from the PRBB self-reported questionnaire identified 260 females who had been diagnosed with breast cancer between the ages of 25 and 86. The questionnaire includes demographic, family history, lifestyle, and cancer-related questions. BMI was calculated from the self-reported height and weight values, then classified according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) categories: underweight (&lt;18.5), healthy (18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), and obese (≥30.0). Age at diagnosis and frequency of patients who reported getting annual mammograms were both recorded. Descriptive statistics were performed. According to the CDC categories of BMI, 106 respondents (41.2%) were obese, 88 (34.2%) were overweight, 58 (22.6%) were of a healthy weight, and 5 (1.9%) were underweight. This indicates that approximately 77% of the respondents had a BMI outside of the healthy range. The average BMI of 28.8 and median BMI of 28.4 both fall within the overweight category, and the population standard deviation was 5.9. The mean age at diagnosis among our cohort was 56.78 years. The percentage of women who reported having a mammogram annually was 81%. Our data suggests that Puerto Rican women have a high rate of screening using mammograms and have a high BMI. This study suggests that the distribution in age in Puerto Rican women are in-line with national averages. Further examination of breast cancer among Puerto Rican women is needed to establish consistent risk factors and mitigate any health disparities confirmed among this population of breast cancer patients.

Citation Format: Abigail E. Lantz, William D. Cress, Allison Bahr, Edna Gordián, Jaileene Perez-Morales, Idhaliz Flores, María Rojas. Body mass index, age at diagnosis, and mammography screening behaviors in women diagnosed with breast cancer in Puerto Rico [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-218.