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. 2000 Jun;82(11):1867–1870. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.1999.1082

Ethnic differences in post-menopausal plasma oestrogen levels: high oestrone levels in Japanese-American women despiteow weight

N M Probst-Hensch 1,3, M C Pike 1, R McKean-Cowdin 1, F Z Stanczyk 2, L N Kolonel 4, B E Henderson 1
PMCID: PMC2363216  PMID: 10839304

Abstract

Breast cancer incidence in Japanese-American women is approaching that of US Whites. We investigated whether this shift is paralleled by similar post-menopausal plasma hormone levels in the two ethnic groups. We also included African-American and Latina women to further our understanding of possible ethnic differences in oestrogen metabolism. We measured androstenedione (A), oestrone (E1) and oestradiol (E2) in 30 Japanese-American, 39 non-Latina White (‘White’), 66 African-American and 58 Latina women. The (age-adjusted) geometric mean E1 levels were 34 pg ml−1in Japanese-Americans, 28 pg ml−1in Whites, 35 pg ml−1in African-Americans and 31 pg ml−1in Latinas. After adjustment for body mass index, Japanese-Americans had the highest mean E1 value of all groups and this was statistically significantly greater than the value for Whites (Pt-test= 0.05). The geometric mean A concentrations were also highest in Japanese-Americans. There was little ethnic difference in E2 levels. In conclusion, post-menopausal plasma oestrogen levels in Japanese-American women are at least as high as those in Whites. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: oestrogen, androstenedione, Japanese-American, breast cancer

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Selected References

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