Background: Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late age at rst full-term pregnancy are linked to a modest increase in the risk of developing breast cancer (breast ca). Multiparity is related to an increased risk but multiple full-term pregnancies decrease the risk of breast cancers. This study aims to investigate the reproductive determinants of breast cancer among women in the West Bank of Palestine. Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a case-control study; 237 registered cases and 237 controls aged 40 years old or more. A multivariate analysis model was used to adjust for the association between women's reproductive factors and breast ca risk. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% con dence interval (95% CI) are reported. This study was approved by Al Quds University Ethical Research Committee and the Ministry of Health research unit. All women provided written informed consent.Results: In the multivariate analysis, having menarche after 13 years of age, using oral contraceptives for more than two months, using hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and getting pregnant at an early age (≤18 years) signi cantly doubled the risk for breast ca. Women who used hormonal contraceptives were signi cantly associated with higher odds of having breast ca 6.37 compared to those who did not use them (p <0.05). Similarly, nulliparous women showed 6 times the odds of breast ca be compared with women with one or more children (p = 0.005). Also, the mother's educational level; parental consanguinity marriage; and positive family history of breast ca be strong determinants for breast ca in this study.Conclusions: This study provides clear evidence of the role of using oral contraceptives and hormonal replacement therapy on women's breasts ca. Therefore, reproductive hormones use, whether as a birth control tool or in therapy, must be rationalized. More in-depth investigations are needed to identify the protective role of having children and breastfeeding practices on breast ca protection. Special attention should be considered for the special social and cultural factors related to sexual and reproductive issues among women in Palestine Background Breast cancer (breast ca) is the main common cause of cancer mortality among women in the world [1].Breast cancer is a multi-factorial type of cancer. Being genetically predisposed or having a family history of rst degree relative with breast ca was shown to increase the cancer incidence [2][3][4][5][6]. Also, parental marriage, which is marriage from a relative, was shown to increase the risk too [7,8]. Among women aged 40 years or more, breast ca is related to an increased risk [9,10]. Modi able risk factors related to energy balance-such as obesity, physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, and poor dietary patterns were shown also to be related to breast cancer risk [6,[11][12][13][14][15].The effect of reproductive factors strongly supports a hormonal role in its aetiology [16][17][18][19]. Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late ag...

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Background: Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late age at first full-term pregnancy are linked to a modest increase in the risk of developing breast cancer (breast ca). This study aims to investigate the reproductive determinants of breast cancer among women in the West Bank of Palestine.A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a case-control study (237 registered cases and 237 controls). A multivariate analysis model was used to adjust for the association between women’s reproductive factors and breast ca risk. This study was approved by Al Quds University Ethical Research Committee and the Ministry of Health research unit. Results: In the multivariate analysis, menarche after 13 years of age, use of oral contraceptives for more than two months, hormonal contraceptives use, and becoming pregnant at an early age (≤18 years) significantly doubled the risk for breast ca. Women who used hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were significantly associated with higher odds (6 times) of having breast ca versus those who did not use them (p <0.05). Similarly, nulliparous women showed 6 times the odds of breast ca compared with women with one or more children (p = 0.005). Also, parental consanguinity marriage and positive family history of the condition can be strong determinants for breast ca in this study. Conclusion: This study provides clear evidence that the use of reproductive hormones, whether as a birth control tool or for therapeutic purposes, must be rationalized worldwide and in Palestine in particular.

Background: Early age at menarche, late age at menopause, and late age at first full-term pregnancy are linked to a modest increase in the risk of developing breast cancer (breast ca). Multiparity is related to an increased risk but multiple full-term pregnancies decrease the risk of breast cancers. This study aims to investigate the reproductive determinants of breast cancer among women in the West Bank of Palestine.Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a case-control study; 237 registered cases and 237 controls aged 40 years old or more. A multivariate analysis model was used to adjust for the association between women’s reproductive factors and breast ca risk. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) are reported. This study was approved by Al Quds University Ethical Research Committee and the Ministry of Health research unit. All women provided written informed consent.Results: In the multivariate analysis, having menarche after 13 years of age, using oral contraceptives for more than two months, using hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and getting pregnant at an early age (≤18 years) significantly doubled the risk for breast ca. Women who used hormonal contraceptives were significantly associated with higher odds of having breast ca 6.37 compared to those who did not use them (p <0.05). Similarly, nulliparous women showed 6 times the odds of breast ca be compared with women with one or more children (p = 0.005). Also, the mother’s educational level; parental consanguinity marriage; and positive family history of breast ca be strong determinants for breast ca in this study. Conclusions: This study provides clear evidence of the role of using oral contraceptives and hormonal replacement therapy on women's breasts ca. Therefore, reproductive hormones use, whether as a birth control tool or in therapy, must be rationalized. More in-depth investigations are needed to identify the protective role of having children and breastfeeding practices on breast ca protection. Special attention should be considered for the special social and cultural factors related to sexual and reproductive issues among women in Palestine