Residential Mobility and Breast Cancer in Marin County, California, USA

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Geoffrey M. Jacquez¹  Janice Barlow³  Robert Rommel¹  Andy Kaufmann¹  Michael Rienti²  Gillian AvRuskin¹ 

[1] BioMedware, Inc., 3526 West Liberty, Suite 100, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; E-Mails:;Department of Geography, University at Buffalo—State University of New York, 105 Wilkeson Quad, Buffalo, NY 14261, USA; E-Mail:;Zero Breast Cancer, 4340 Redwood Highway, Suite C400, San Rafael, CA 94903, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: human mobility;    space-time analysis;    breast cancer;    disease etiology;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph110100271

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Marin County (California, USA) has among the highest incidences of breast cancer in the U.S. A previously conducted case-control study found eight significant risk factors in participants enrolled from 1997–1999. These included being premenopausal, never using birth control pills, lower highest lifetime body mass index, having four or more mammograms from 1990–1994, beginning drinking alcohol after age 21, drinking an average two or more alcoholic drinks per day, being in the highest quartile of pack-years of cigarette smoking, and being raised in an organized religion. Previously conducted surveys provided residential histories; while Ǫ statistic accounted for participants’ residential mobility, and assessed clustering of breast cancer cases relative to controls based on the known risk factors. These identified specific cases, places, and times of excess breast cancer risk. Analysis found significant global clustering of cases localized to specific residential histories and times. Much of the observed clustering occurred among participants who immigrated to Marin County. However, persistent case-clustering of greater than fifteen years duration was also detected. Significant case-clustering among long-term residents may indicate geographically localized risk factors not accounted for in the study design, as well as uncertainty and incompleteness in the acquired addresses. Other plausible explanations include environmental risk factors and cases tending to settle in specific areas. A biologically plausible exposure or risk factor has yet to be identified.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.