Table 3.

Relative risk of breast cancer according to circulating carotenoids among postmenopausal women at blood draw and mammogram.

	Quintiles of Circulating Carotenoids
	1 (low)	2	3	4	5 (high)	p-trend
α-carotene
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	1.1 (0.8-1.6)	1.1 (0.8-1.6)	0.8 (0.6-1.2)	0.7 (0.4-1.0)	0.004
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	1.1 (0.7-1.6)	1.0 (0.7-1.5)	0.7 (0.5-1.1)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.0008

β-carotene
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	1.3 (0.9-1.8)	1.4 (1.0-2.1)	0.9 (0.6-1.4)	0.6 (0.4-1.0)	0.001
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	1.3 (0.9-1.8)	1.3 (0.9-2.0)	0.9 (0.6-1.3)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.0004

β–cryptoxanthin
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	1.2 (0.8-1.7)	1.1 (0.8-1.6)	0.8 (0.5-1.2)	0.9 (0.6-1.3)	0.11
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	1.2 (0.8-1.8)	1.1 (0.8-1.7)	0.8 (0.5-1.1)	0.8 (0.5-1.2)	0.04

Lycopene
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	1.2 (0.9-1.7)	1.0 (0.7-1.4)	1.0 (0.7-1.5)	1.0 (0.7-1.4)	0.56
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	1.1 (0.7-1.5)	0.9 (0.6-1.3)	1.0 (0.7-1.4)	0.8 (0.6-1.2)	0.26

Lutein/zeaxanthin
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	0.7 (0.5-1.0)	0.7 (0.5-1.0)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.01
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.6 (0.4-0.8)	0.5 (0.4-0.8)	0.003

Total Carotenoids³
MV¹	1.0 (Ref)	1.1 (0.8-1.5)	1.2 (0.8-1.7)	0.8 (0.5-1.1)	0.7 (0.5-1.0)	0.01
MV¹+MD²	1.0 (Ref)	1.0 (0.7-1.5)	1.1 (0.7-1.6)	0.7 (0.5-1.0)	0.6 (0.4-0.9)	0.002

age (continuous), body mass index (continuous, kg/m²), family history of breast cancer (yes or no), parity and age at birth of first child (nulliparous, parous with age at first birth <25 years, parous with age at first birth of 25-29 years, parous with age at first birth of ≥30 years), alcohol consumption (0, <5, 5 to <15, ≥15 g/day), benign breast disease (yes/no), PMH use (never, past, current)

Quintiles of percent mammographic density

Total carotenoids are the sum of individual concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein/zeaxanthin