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Incidence trends of early-onset breast cancer by lifestyle risk factors
Jasmiina Rantala, Karri Seppä, Johan Gunnar Eriksson, Sirpa H. Heinävaara, Tommi Härkänen, Pekka Jousilahti, Paul Knekt, Satu Männistö et al.. BMC Cancer, 2025-02-21
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The highest annual increase in age-standardized incidence was observed among women aged 40-49 who were overweight (AAPC 4.0%, 95% CI 0.5-7.7%), currently smoking (AAPC 3.3%, 95% CI 0.1-6.6%) or moderately physically active (AAPC 2.9%, 95% CI 0.3-5.6%). The increase in early-onset breast cancer incidence was highest among women aged 40-49 who were overweight, currently smoking, or moderately physically active, while no change by risk factors was found in women under 40 years of age. Our findings suggest a different type of cancer process in young adults and highlight the importance of lifestyle risk factors in the incidence of EOBC.
Key findings
- The highest annual increase in age-standardized incidence was observed among women aged 40-49 who were overweight (AAPC 4.0%, 95% CI 0.5-7.7%), currently smoking (AAPC 3.3%, 95% CI 0.1-6.6%) or moderately physically active (AAPC 2.9%, 95% CI 0.3-5.6%).
- The increase in early-onset breast cancer incidence was highest among women aged 40-49 who were overweight, currently smoking, or moderately physically active, while no change by risk factors was found in women under 40 years of age.
- Our findings suggest a different type of cancer process in young adults and highlight the importance of lifestyle risk factors in the incidence of EOBC.
Why it matters
This study is about early-onset breast cancer incidence and lifestyle risk factors and contains no information on Alzheimer's disease. It reports no findings relevant to treating, curing or preventing dementia.
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Study details
- Effect size4.0%; 7.7%; 3.3%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 48/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 46 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 48 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Cancer) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | BMC Cancer: journal h-index 203 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 17 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 17 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Sydney: institution h-index 1,466 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39984883) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 46 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 48 out of 100. |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Rantala, J., Seppä, K., Eriksson, J. G., Heinävaara, S. H., Härkänen, T., Jousilahti, P., et al. (2025). Incidence trends of early-onset breast cancer by lifestyle risk factors. BMC Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-13730-y
Vancouver
Rantala J, Seppä K, Eriksson JG, Heinävaara SH, Härkänen T, Jousilahti P, et al. Incidence trends of early-onset breast cancer by lifestyle risk factors. BMC Cancer. 2025. doi:10.1186/s12885-025-13730-y. PMID: 39984883.
BibTeX
@article{rantala2025-39984883,
author = {Rantala, Jasmiina and Seppä, Karri and Eriksson, Johan Gunnar and Heinävaara, Sirpa H. and Härkänen, Tommi and Jousilahti, Pekka and Knekt, Paul and Männistö, Satu and others},
title = {{Incidence trends of early-onset breast cancer by lifestyle risk factors}},
journal = {BMC Cancer},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1186/s12885-025-13730-y},
pmid = {39984883},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-025-13730-y}
}
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