Sex Hormones in Women With Elevated Breast Cancer Risk Undergoing Weight Loss.
Sophia A Stone, Claire J Han, Taurence Senn and 5 others
PMID 30616442WHAT IT FOUND
In 13 women, blood estrone and estradiol were lower at 9 months after a 6-month diet, exercise and mindfulness programme than in controls.
Urinary estrone was higher at 6 months. Other hormone changes did not differ.
Key findings
01At 9 months, serum estrone decreased by 12% in the intervention group and by 0% in controls (p = 0.043), while serum estradiol decreased by 51% in the intervention group and increased by 8% in controls (p = 0.020).
02At 6 months, urinary estrone increased by 73% in the intervention group and decreased by 55% in controls (p = 0.035).
03No significant differences were seen in changes in other blood or urine sex hormones.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 13 participants had outcome data (6 intervention and 7 control), and the authors state the study was underpowered to detect subtler hormonal changes. The authors did not adjust for age, BMI, menopausal status, or family history of breast cancer because of the small sample, so confounding cannot be ruled out. The DEEM programme combined diet education, exercise education, experiential exercise, mindfulness, and emotional processing, and used motivational interviewing, patient-centered therapy, and cognitive-behavioral skills. The contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The main outcomes were blood and urine sex hormone profiles and body composition, so the study does not show that breast cancer risk fell. Control women were offered 3 supervised exercise sessions after the intervention, so later comparisons may not reflect the intervention alone.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The article metadata indicates NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower blood estrone and estradiol at 9 months as proof that this programme prevents breast cancer. It was a pilot with 13 analysed participants. The reported outcomes were blood and urine sex hormone profiles. The authors say the study was underpowered and did not adjust for confounders.