Low Vitamin D Levels may Predispose the Risk of Breast Cancer

Risk of breast cancer is found to be high among Black and Hispanic women with low vitamin D levels as per a study published in CANCER , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society . Generally, Black/African American or Hispanic/Latina have lower levels of vitamin D on average when compared with other non-Hispanic white women.

Link between Ethnicity and Breast Cancer

To further investigate the role of race and ethnicity in link between vitamin D and breast cancer , the study team analyzed the blood samples from 415 women (290 Black/African American and 125 non-Black Hispanic/Latina) who later developed breast cancer.

In addition, 1,447 women (1,010 Black/African American and 437 Hispanic/Latina) who did not develop breast cancer, were also analyzed. Participants were followed up for up to 9.2 years.

It was found that women with sufficient vitamin D levels had a 21% lower breast cancer rate than women with vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL). The risk was even lower up to 48% among Hispanic/Latina women with sufficient vitamin D levels.

“Together with prior studies on this topic, this article suggests that vitamin D may be associated with reduced risk of breast cancer, including among women who self-identify as Black, African-American, Hispanic, or Latina,” says Katie O’Brien, PhD, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Source-Medindia