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Table 1 Baseline characteristics of breast cancer cases and matched controls, Nurses’ Health Study II

From: Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and breast cancer risk by tumor tissue expression of immuno-inflammatory markers and fatty acid synthase: a nested case-control study

Characteristic1

Cases (n = 235)

Controls (n = 235)

Age at blood collection (years), median (IQR)2

45.8 (42.5–49.0)

45.9 (42.6–49.2)

Age at menarche (years), median (IQR)

12.0 (12.0–13.0)

13.0 (12.0–13.0)

White race, %2

98.7

98.3

BMI at age 18 (kg/m2), median (IQR)

20.2 (18.8–22.3)

20.6 (19.1–22.3)

BMI at blood collection (kg/m2), median (IQR)

24.3 (21.7–27.9)

24.3 (21.7–28.1)

Weight change from age 18 to blood collection (kg), median (IQR)

10.5 (4.5–18.2)

9.5 (4.1–17.7)

Fasting at blood collection (≥ 8 h since last meal), %2

71.9

74.0

Menopausal status at blood collection, %2

 Premenopausal

75.7

74.5

 Postmenopausal

12.3

14.5

 Unknown

11.9

11.1

Parous women, %

79.6

82.6

Parity, median (IQR)3

2.0 (2.0–3.0)

2.0 (2.0–3.0)

Age at first birth (years), median (IQR)3

26.0 (23.0–29.0)

25.0 (22.0–28.0)

History of breastfeeding, %3

74.3

77.8

History of biopsy-confirmed benign breast disease, %

20.9

16.2

Family history of breast cancer, %

15.7

9.8

NSAIDs current regular use (≥ 2 times/week), %

14.9

13.6

Physical activity (MET-hours/week), median (IQR)

12.1 (7.1–22.2)

14.0 (7.3–27.9)

Alcohol consumption (grams/day), median (IQR)

1.4 (0.0–6.2)

1.0 (0.0–3.8)

Total fat consumption (% energy intake), median (IQR)

29.8 (25.5–34.3)

30.6 (25.5–35.0)

Total saturated fat consumption (% energy intake), median (IQR)

10.4 (8.4–12.3)

10.5 (8.6–12.6)

Total monounsaturated fat consumption (% energy intake), median (IQR)

11.6 (9.6–13.5)

11.9 (10.1–13.6)

Total polyunsaturated fat consumption (% energy intake), median (IQR)

4.8 (4.2–5.5)

4.6 (4.0–5.4)

  1. Abbreviations: IQR interquartile range, BMI body mass index, NSAIDs non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, MET metabolic equivalent of task
  2. 1Values are missing for age at menarche (0.9%), age at first birth among parous women (0.8%), NSAIDs current regular use (3.0%), physical activity (0.2%), alcohol consumption (0.6%), total fat consumption (4.9%), total saturated fat consumption (4.9%), total monounsaturated fat consumption (4.9%), and total polyunsaturated fat consumption (4.9%)
  3. 2Case-control matching factor
  4. 3Parity, age at first birth, and history of breast feeding among parous women