Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors: Influence of follow-up time on metabolic health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29289/2594539420250021Keywords:
breast neoplasms, health, obesity, menopauseAbstract
Introduction: Advances in the early detection and treatments have contributed to increased longevity in breast cancer (BC) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolic health at different times after BC diagnosis in postmenopausal women. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 439 women, aged 45–75 years, with a diagnosis of BC, and without metastatic disease or cardiovascular disease. Women were distributed into three time periods: T0, time of diagnosis (n=241); T4, 4-year follow-up (n=94); and T9, 9-year follow-up (n=104). The groups were paired by age and time since menopause. The following criteria were considered to assess metabolic health: body mass index; blood pressure; serum values of triglycerides (TGs), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and glucose; and occurrence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Results: The mean age per group was 58.4±11.3 years in T0, 59.7±9.2 years in T4, and 60.7±8.6 years in T9 (p=0.134). On average, women were overweight at T0 and T4, and obese at T9, with differences between time periods (p=0.029). Women at T9 had higher mean values of TGs and blood pressure when compared to women at T0 and T4 (p<0.05). There was no difference in the occurrence of MetS between time periods (p=0.409). On risk analysis, women with at least 9 years of follow-up (T9) were at a higher risk of developing hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio [OR]=1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–2.66, p=0.032) and arterial hypertension (OR=2.04, 95%CI 1.27–3.26, p=0.003). Conclusion: Postmenopausal BC survivors with a longer follow-up period had worse metabolic health due to a higher risk of hypertriglyceridemia, arterial hypertension, and obesity when compared to women with a shorter oncological follow-up period.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Luciana de Araujo Brito Buttros, Daniel de Araujo Brito Buttros, Paulo Gustavo Tenório do Amaral, Carla Priscila Kamiya Carvalho Pessoa, Eduardo Carvalho-Pessoa, Heloisa Maria de Luca Vespoli Vespoli, Eliana Aguiar Petri Nahas
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