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. 2002 Feb 1;86(3):362-6.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6600084.

Breast cancer incidence in food- vs non-food-producing areas in Norway: possible beneficial effects of World War II

Trude Eid Robsahm  1 , S Tretli
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Breast cancer incidence in food- vs non-food-producing areas in Norway: possible beneficial effects of World War II

Trude Eid Robsahm et al. Br J Cancer. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

It has been suggested that World War II influenced breast cancer risk among Norwegian women by affecting adolescent growth. Diet changed substantially during the war, and the reduction in energy intake was assumed to be larger in non-food-producing than in food-producing municipalities. In the present study, we have looked at the influence of residential history in areas with and without food production on the incidence of breast cancer in a population-based cohort study consisting of 597,906 women aged between 30 and 64 years. The study included 7311 cases of breast cancer, diagnosed between 1964 and 1992. The risk estimates were calculated using a Poisson regression model. The results suggest that residential history may influence the risk of breast cancer, where the suggested advantageous effect of World War II seems to be larger in non-food-producing than in food-producing areas. Breast cancer incidence was observed to decline for the post-war cohorts, which is discussed in relation to diet.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The estimated incidence of breast cancer in Norwegian women by age at diagnosis and birth cohort (Model I-2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The estimated incidence of breast cancer by age at diagnosis and birth cohort, for Food and Non-food areas, models II-5 and III-5 (adjusted for age at first birth and level of education and occupational physical activity).
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