Mammographic breast features and risk of cardiovascular diseases in korean women

Background

There is a growing amount of evidence on the association between cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and breast calcification. Thus, mammographic breast features have recently gained attention as CVD predictors.

Objective

This study assessed the association of mammographic features, including benign calcification, microcalcification, and breast density, with cardiovascular diseases.

Methods

This study comprised 6,878,686 women aged ≥40 who underwent mammographic screening between 2009 and 2012 with follow-up until 2020. The mammographic features included benign calcification, microcalcification, and breast density. The cardiovascular diseases associated with the mammographic features were assessed using logistic regression.

Results

The prevalence of benign calcification, microcalcification, and dense breasts were 9.6 %, 0.9 % and 47.3 % at baseline, respectively. Over a median follow-up of 10 years, benign calcification and microcalcification were positively associated with an increased risk of chronic ischaemic heart disease whereas breast density was inversely associated with it; the corresponding aOR (95 % CI) was 1.14 (1.10–1.17), 1.19 (1.03–1.15), and 0.88 (0.85–0.90), respectively. A significantly increased risk of chronic ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was observed among women with benign calcifications (aHR, 1.14; 95 % CI 1.10–1.17) and microcalcifications (aOR, 1.19; 95 % CI 1.06–1.33). Women with microcalcifications had a 1.16–fold (95 % CI 1.03–1.30) increased risk of heart failure.

Conclusions

Mammographic calcifications were associated with an increased risk of chronic ischaemic heart diseases, whereas dense breast was associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, the mammographic features identified on breast cancer screening may provide an opportunity for cardiovascular disease risk identification and prevention.