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Mon 26 Sep, 2005 10:23 am
Breast cancer risk double for left-handed women
By Maxine Frith, Social Affairs Correspondent
Published: 26 September 2005
Women who are left-handed are at increased risk of developing breast cancer at an early age, research has suggested. Scientists believe that women who are born left-handed may have been exposed to higher levels of sex hormones in the womb.
They are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with pre-menopausal breast cancer, according to a study published in the online version of the British Medical Journal. Researchers from the University Medical Centre in Utrecht followed more than 12,000 women born between 1932 and 1941.
They took into account other risk factors for breast cancer, such as body weight, smoking habits, family history and socio-economic status. Even when all these were adjusted for, women who were left-handed were 2.41 times more likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause.
The scientists believe the increased risk is linked to exposure to higher levels of oestrogen in the womb. High levels of oestrogen in utero are believed to induce left-handedness, although the reason is unclear.
Liz Carroll, head of services at Breast Cancer Care, said: "It is important to remember that the single biggest risk factor for breast cancer is age - 80 per cent of women diagnosed with this disease are over 50."
Emma Taggart, director of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the study did not give enough evidence to link left-handedness with breast cancer.
In Mouth cancer, once associated with older men, is becoming increasingly common in younger people and women. It is thought that binge drinking and smoking may account for the rise.
That's a strange correlation.
Epidemilogical studies are much less likely to find true cause/effect relationships than controlled prospective studies. That is not to say that retrospective studies are not valuable, but they should be used as an indicator that an issue should be studied more closely in a prospective trial.
The article states
Quote:Emma Taggart, director of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the study did not give enough evidence to link left-handedness with breast cancer.
which conflicts with the title of this thread.
I'm cack handed and a breast cancer survivor--but then my cancer was diagnosed when I was in my late '50's--not "young".
cack handed?! what's that?
I'm left-handed. I'm not going to worry about it. Too many things to worry about as it is!
Hmmm.
Did left handed males have more estrogen in the womb too?
Do males with breast cancer (there are some) exhibit lefthandedness in the same ratio?
For some reason a lot of the left handed people I know are pretty smart, certainly an anecdotal observation. Does that mean estrogen affects smartness?
Flushd--
"Cack handed"--left handed.
Ossobuco--
My mother also had hefty doses of DES to prevent my miscarriage.