This study is very interesting for two reasons. First of all, the decrease in breast cancer was significant (34.4%) for the women with the highest levels and secondly because the patients with the reduced incidence still have very low (10 - 20 ng/mL = 25 - 50 nmol/L) levels which makes one wonder what the reduction would have been with levels >40 ng/mL = 100 nmol/L.
Studies like this highlight the damage that is being done by the anti-UVR zealots. Imagine the lives saved if breast cancer incidence could be reduced by 34% (or more).
Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 May 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Vitamin D status and breast cancer in Saudi Arabian women: case-control study. Yousef FM,
Jacobs ET,
Kang PT,
Hakim IA,
Going S,
Yousef JM,
Al-Raddadi RM,
Kumosani TA,
Thomson CA.
Source
Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract BACKGROUND:
The role of vitamin D in breast cancer prevention is equivocal. Saudi Arabian women may be at greater risk of vitamin D deficiency because of a darker skin type and a greater likelihood of reduced ultraviolet B radiation exposure. Data regarding the vitamin D status of Saudi Arabian women and its relation to breast cancer risk are lacking.
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the association between circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and breast cancer risk in Saudi Arabian women.
DESIGN:
A case-control study was conducted among 120 breast cancer cases and 120 controls. The study population was drawn from patients admitted to King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from June to August 2009. Participants completed questionnaires on diet and medical history, and serum samples were collected from all women to measure circulating 25(OH)D concentrations.
RESULTS:
The participants had a mean age of 47.8 y and a mean body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) of 30.0.
Breast cancer cases had significantly lower (mean ± SD) serum concentrations of 25(OH)D (9.4 ± 6.4 ng/mL) than did controls (15.4 ± 12.3 ng/mL; P = 0.001). In comparison with those in the highest category of vitamin D status for this population (≥20 ng/mL),
the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for invasive breast cancer were 6.1 (2.4, 15.1) for women with a serum 25(OH)D concentration <10 ng/mL and 4.0 (1.6, 10.4) for women with a serum concentration of ≥10 to <20 ng/mL (P-trend = 0.0001).
CONCLUSION:
An inverse association exists between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and breast cancer risk in Saudi Arabian women.