This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Save to my personal folders Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Holmes, M. D. Articles by Hankinson, S. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Holmes, M. D. Articles by Hankinson, S. E.

Dietary Fat Intake and Endogenous Sex Steroid Hormone Levels in Postmenopausal Women

From the Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, and Division of Preventive Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Departments of Epidemiology, Nutrition, and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.

Address reprint requests to Michelle D. Holmes, MD, DrPH, Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 181 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between plasma levels of reproductive sex steroid hormones in postmenopausal women and their reported fat intake.

METHODS: We measured plasma sex steroid hormones levels in plasma collected in 1989 and 1990 from 381 healthy postmenopausal women. For each woman, we measured fat intake in 1986 and 1990 by a food-frequency questionnaire. The cross-sectional associations between the percentage of energy from total and specific types of dietary fat intake and plasma hormone levels were assessed by linear regression, controlling for energy intake, obesity, and protein intake.

RESULTS: The plasma estradiol level was 4.3% lower (95% confidence limits, -8.3%, -0.2%) for a substitution of 5% of energy from fat intake for an equivalent amount of energy from carbohydrate when adjusted for obesity and other covariates. Estradiol was also inversely associated with all other fat types except trans fat; the inverse associations with vegetable fat and marine omega-3 fats were statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: We observed an inverse association between total fat intake averaged over 4 to 5 years and estradiol levels. This result is inconsistent with the hypothesis that fat intake predisposes to breast cancer risk by raising endogenous estrogen levels.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. U. Buzdar Dietary Modification and Risk of Breast Cancer JAMA, February 8, 2006; 295(6): 691 - 692. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Nagata, Y. Nagao, C. Shibuya, Y. Kashiki, and H. Shimizu Fat Intake Is Associated with Serum Estrogen and Androgen Concentrations in Postmenopausal Japanese Women J. Nutr., December 1, 2005; 135(12): 2862 - 2865. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Wang, F. Paris, C. S. Sultan, R. X.-D. Song, L. M. Demers, B. Sundaram, J. Settlage, S. Ohorodnik, and R. J. Santen Recombinant Cell Ultrasensitive Bioassay for Measurement of Estrogens in Postmenopausal Women J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2005; 90(3): 1407 - 1413. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. L. Rock, S. W. Flatt, C. A. Thomson, M. L. Stefanick, V. A. Newman, L. A. Jones, L. Natarajan, C. Ritenbaugh, K. A. Hollenbach, J. P. Pierce, et al. Effects of a High-Fiber, Low-Fat Diet Intervention on Serum Concentrations of Reproductive Steroid Hormones in Women With a History of Breast Cancer J. Clin. Oncol., June 15, 2004; 22(12): 2379 - 2387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. H. Kroenke, S. E. Hankinson, E. S. Schernhammer, G. A. Colditz, I. Kawachi, and M. D. Holmes Caregiving Stress, Endogenous Sex Steroid Hormone Levels, and Breast Cancer Incidence Am. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2004; 159(11): 1019 - 1027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Cho, D. Spiegelman, D. J. Hunter, W. Y. Chen, M. J. Stampfer, G. A. Colditz, and W. C. Willett Premenopausal Fat Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer J Natl Cancer Inst, July 16, 2003; 95(14): 1079 - 1085. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. S. Michaud, E. Giovannucci, W. C. Willett, G. A. Colditz, and C. S. Fuchs Dietary Meat, Dairy Products, Fat, and Cholesterol and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in a Prospective Study Am. J. Epidemiol., June 15, 2003; 157(12): 1115 - 1125. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. E Kasim-Karakas, R. U Almario, L. Gregory, H. Todd, R. Wong, and B. L Lasley Effects of prune consumption on the ratio of 2-hydroxyestrone to 16{alpha}-hydroxyestrone Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2002; 76(6): 1422 - 1427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Hilakivi-Clarke, E. Cho, A. Cabanes, S. DeAssis, S. Olivo, W. Helferich, M. E. Lippman, and R. Clarke Dietary Modulation of Pregnancy Estrogen Levels and Breast Cancer Risk among Female Rat Offspring Clin. Cancer Res., November 1, 2002; 8(11): 3601 - 3610. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Smith-Warner, J. Ritz, D. J. Hunter, D. Albanes, W. L. Beeson, P. A. van den Brandt, G. Colditz, A. R. Folsom, G. E. Fraser, J. L. Freudenheim, et al. Dietary Fat and Risk of Lung Cancer in a Pooled Analysis of Prospective Studies Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., October 1, 2002; 11(10): 987 - 992. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. H. Wu, F. Z. Stanczyk, A. Seow, H.-P. Lee, and M. C. Yu Soy Intake and Other Lifestyle Determinants of Serum Estrogen Levels among Postmenopausal Chinese Women in Singapore Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., September 1, 2002; 11(9): 844 - 851. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. D. Holmes, M. N. Pollak, W. C. Willett, and S. E. Hankinson Dietary Correlates of Plasma Insulin-like Growth Factor I and Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 Concentrations Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., September 1, 2002; 11(9): 852 - 861. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. R. Bertone, B. A. Rosner, D. J. Hunter, M. J. Stampfer, F. E. Speizer, G. A. Colditz, W. C. Willett, and S. E. Hankinson Dietary Fat Intake and Ovarian Cancer in a Cohort of US Women Am. J. Epidemiol., July 1, 2002; 156(1): 22 - 31. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. T. Chlebowski, E. Aiello, and A. McTiernan Weight Loss in Breast Cancer Patient Management J. Clin. Oncol., February 15, 2002; 20(4): 1128 - 1143. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Willett, M. Stampfer, N.-F. Chu, D. Spiegelman, M. Holmes, and E. Rimm Assessment of Questionnaire Validity for Measuring Total Fat Intake using Plasma Lipid Levels as Criteria Am. J. Epidemiol., December 15, 2001; 154(12): 1107 - 1112. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. C. Willett Diet and Cancer: One View at the Start of the Millennium Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., January 1, 2001; 10(1): 3 - 8. [Abstract] [Full Text]