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Associations between time spent sitting and cancer-related biomarkers in postmenopausal women: an exploration of effect modifiers

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite evidence that prolonged periods of sitting may influence biological mediators of cancer development, few studies have considered these relationships in a cancer-specific context.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 755 postmenopausal women enrolled in an ancillary study of the Women’s Health Initiative. Plasma levels of Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF-binding protein-3, leptin, insulin, C-peptide, C-reactive protein (CRP), and Interleukin (IL)-6 were measured. The time spent sitting per day was categorized as quartiles (Qs). The relationships between sedentary time and biomarkers were modified by race, physical activity, and exogenous estrogen use.

Results

IGF-I levels among African American (AA) women were higher than those of white women across the Qs of sedentary time. Likewise, IL-6 levels in AA women were higher than those in white women at Q3 and Q4 of sedentary time. IGFBP-3 levels were higher and insulin levels were lower across the Qs of sedentary time among women meeting guidelines for physical activity than women who were not. Additionally, CRP levels were higher among estrogen users than nonusers at Q1, Q2, and Q4 of sedentary time.

Conclusions

These results suggest that relationship between time spent sitting and cancer-related biomarkers may not be simply linear, but differ in the context of effect modifiers.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by NCI grant (R21 CA086036, PI: J. Hays-Grudo; R25T CA057730, PI: S. Chang) and by the WHI program, which is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through contracts HHSN268201100046C, HHSN268201100001C, HHSN268201100002C, HHSN268201100003C, HHSN268201100004C, and HHSN271201100004C. There are no financial disclosures of conflicts of interest and the results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by ACSM.

Program Office

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD: Jacques Rossouw, Shari Ludlam, Dale Burwen, Joan McGowan, Leslie Ford, and Nancy Geller.

Clinical Coordinating Center

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA: Garnet Anderson, Ross Prentice, Andrea LaCroix, and Charles Kooperberg.

Investigators and Academic Centers

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA: JoAnn E. Manson; MedStar Health Research Institute/Howard University, Washington, DC: Barbara V. Howard; Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford, CA: Marcia L. Stefanick; The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH: Rebecca Jackson; University of Arizona, Tucson/Phoenix, AZ: Cynthia A. Thomson; University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY: Jean Wactawski-Wende; University of Florida, Gainesville/Jacksonville, FL: Marian Limacher; University of Iowa, Iowa City/Davenport, IA: Robert Wallace; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA: Lewis Kuller; Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC: Sally Shumaker.

Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study

Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC: Sally Shumaker.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Raheem J. Paxton

  2. Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Cancer Prevention Building, CPB7.3563, 1155 Pressler Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Su Yon Jung & Shine Chang

  3. Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Mara Z. Vitolins

  4. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Jenifer Fenton

  5. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, College of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Electra Paskett

  6. Departments of Medicine and Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Michael Pollak

  7. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Jennifer Hays-Grudo

  8. Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Stephen D. Hursting

Authors
  1. Raheem J. Paxton
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  2. Su Yon Jung
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  4. Jenifer Fenton
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  5. Electra Paskett
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  6. Michael Pollak
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  7. Jennifer Hays-Grudo
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  9. Shine Chang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Su Yon Jung.

Additional information

Raheem J. Paxton and Su Yon Jung have contributed equally to this work.

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Paxton, R.J., Jung, S.Y., Vitolins, M.Z. et al. Associations between time spent sitting and cancer-related biomarkers in postmenopausal women: an exploration of effect modifiers. Cancer Causes Control 25, 1427–1437 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0434-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0434-y

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