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A Null Association between Active or Passive Cigarette Smoking and Breast Cancer Risk

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Abstract

The effect of smoking on breast cancer risk has been null in large, well-conducted cohort studies. In a previous study, we stratified the population into active smokers, passive smokers, and never-active never-passive smokers and modeled early life cigarette smoke exposures as causal and later life cigarette smoke exposure as preventive. We observed a complex association between cigarette smoke and breast cancer risk. Using a similar design and population, this study did not confirm the earlier result. Neither ever-active smoking (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.72, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.55–0.95) nor ever-passive smoking (adjusted OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.63–1.1) were strongly associated with breast cancer risk compared with never-active never-passive smoking. No patterns of effects were observed in subgroup analyses.

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Lash, T.L., Aschengrau, A. A Null Association between Active or Passive Cigarette Smoking and Breast Cancer Risk. Breast Cancer Res Treat 75, 181–184 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019625102365

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019625102365

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