'Non-Veg Diet, Poor Sleep, Obesity Raise Breast Cancer Risk'

Non-vegetarian diet, poor sleep and obesity have been associated with increased risk of breast cancer which is expected to rise by about 5.6 per cent annually leading to an estimated increase of 0.05 million new cases per year, according to an ICMR study.

- Press Trust Of India

Reproductive timing, hormonal exposure and family history also influence breast cancer risk primarily among Indian women, stated the study conducted by ICMR's National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research based in Bengaluru,

In 2022, an estimated 2.3 million women worldwide were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, resulting in approximately 670,000 deaths.

In India, breast cancer is one of the leading cancer sites, with an estimated 2,21,757 cases reported in 2022, accounting for close to a quarter (22.8 per cent) of cancers in women.

This study was a systematic review of the Indian studies assessing breast cancer risk factors among Indian women published up to December 22, 2024.

A meta-analysis using a random effects model estimated pooled associations between key risk factors and breast cancer.

Among the 1,871 articles identified, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria of which case-control studies were of moderate to high quality.