Hypertension has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to prior evidence. However, blood pressure readings of healthy individuals have been ignored in previous studies. Using a Korean population-based prospective cohort, a joint team of Korean researchers aimed to examine the relationship between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and breast cancer risk. The results of this study were published by Nature.com
During baseline recruitment, trainee physicians measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure and then classified them according to international guidelines for clinical hypertension. Based on adjusted multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were associated with breast cancer overall and by pre- and postmenopausal status.
The normal-high diastolic blood pressure category (85–89 mmHg, HR 1.73 95% CI 1.28–2.33) was positively associated with breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, but not in premenopausal women (85–89 mmHg, HR 0.87 95% CI 0.56–1.35). Breast cancer risk was not significantly associated with systolic blood pressure.
