Increased physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer in a new study using figures from the UK Biobank.
Previous work suggests that physical activity may reduce breast cancer risk, particularly after the menopause, but physical inactivity has been less well-studied.
Dr Brigid Lynch of the Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and colleagues assessed the link using genotype information from 130,957 women of European ancestry of whom half had breast cancer.
They also examined details of individuals’ DNA sequences called single nucleotide polymorphisms from the UK Biobank, linked to physical activity as measured by accelerometer.
The technique they used in this analysis was Mendelian randomisation, a method of using genetic variants as proxies for a risk factor, to support a causal relationship.
Results appear in *British Journal of Sports Medicine* today. The researchers found that: "Greater genetically-predicted overall activity was associated with lower breast cancer overall risk for most groups."
They add: "Genetically-predicted vigorous activity was associated with lower risk of pre/perimenopausal breast cancer," and that "greater genetically-predicted sedentary time was associated with higher hormone-receptor-negative tumour risk."
The authors conclude: "Our study provides strong evidence that greater overall physical activity, greater vigorous activity, and lower sedentary time are likely to reduce breast cancer risk.
"More widespread adoption of active lifestyles may reduce the burden from the most common cancer in women."
Dixon-Suen, S. C. et al. Physical activity, sedentary time and breast cancer risk: a Mendelian randomisation study. *British Journal of Sports Medicine* 7 September 2022; doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105132
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