Appendix 1.
Symptoms and abnormal test results
| Cases, n n = 3994 | Cases, % |
Controls, n n = 16 873 |
Controls, % | Exclusion reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | |||||
| Fatigue (1st occurrence) | 150 | 3.8 | 605 | 3.6 | UV failure |
| Fatigue (2nd occurrence) | 13 | 0.3 | 75 | 0.4 | <1% frequency |
| Chest pain (1st occurrence) | 173 | 4.3 | 685 | 4.1 | UV failure |
| Chest pain (2nd occurrence) | 43 | 1.1 | 146 | 0.9 | UV failure |
| Cough (1st occurrence) | 396 | 9.9 | 1733 | 10.3 | UV failure |
| Cough (2nd occurrence) | 113 | 2.8 | 469 | 2.8 | UV failure |
| Cough (3rd occurrence) | 36 | 0.9 | 174 | 1.0 | UV failure |
| Loss of appetite (1st occurrence) | 9 | 0.2 | 36 | 0.2 | <1% frequency |
| Weight loss (1st occurrence) | 33 | 0.8 | 101 | 0.6 | <1% frequency |
| Breast lump (1st occurrence) | 1762 | 44.1 | 132 | 0.8 | |
| Breast lump (2nd occurrence) | 322 | 8.1 | 36 | 0.2 | |
| Breast lump (3rd occurrence) | 47 | 1.2 | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Breast fibroadenoma | 5 | 0.1 | 4 | 0.0 | <1% frequency |
| Breast pain (1st occurrence) | 95 | 2.4 | 127 | 0.8 | |
| Breast pain (2nd occurrence) | 13 | 0.3 | 14 | 0.1 | <1% frequency |
| Breast nodularity | 8 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.0 | <1% frequency |
| Nipple bleed | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | <1% frequency |
| Nipple retraction | 37 | 0.9 | 8 | 0.0 | |
| Nipple discharge | 37 | 0.9 | 14 | 0.1 | |
| Paget’s nipple/eczema | 5 | 0.1 | 4 | 0.0 | <1% frequency |
| Nipple pain | 16 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.0 | <1% frequency |
| Breast skin changes | 3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 | < 1% frequency |
| Breast cyst | 9 | 0.2 | 23 | 0.1 | < 1% frequency |
| Breast infection | 7 | 0.2 | 4 | 0.0 | < 1% frequency |
| Breast (other) | 3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 | < 1% frequency |
| Axillary lymphadenopathy | 3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.0 | < 1% frequency |
| Cervical lymphadenopathy | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 0.1 | < 1% frequency |
| Fever/sweating | 12 | 0.3 | 63 | 0.4 | < 1% frequency |
| Hair loss | 8 | 0.2 | 29 | 0.2 | < 1% frequency |
|
| |||||
| Tests | |||||
| Low calcium | 33 | 0.8 | 89 | 0.5 | < 1% frequency |
| High calcium | 24 | 0.6 | 73 | 0.4 | < 1% frequency |
| High cholesterol | 650 | 16.3 | 2699 | 16.0 | UV failure |
| High creatinine | 172 | 4.3 | 685 | 4.1 | UV failure |
| Low gamma | 3 | 0.1 | 29 | 0.2 | < 1% frequency |
| High gamma | 48 | 1.2 | 160 | 0.9 | UV failure |
| Low glucose | 8 | 0.2 | 33 | 0.2 | < 1% frequency |
| High glucose | 257 | 6.4 | 1022 | 6.1 | UV failure |
| Low haemoglobin | 167 | 4.2 | 671 | 4.0 | UV failure |
| High haemoglobin | 26 | 0.7 | 85 | 0.5 | <1% frequency |
| High inflammatory markers (IM) | 168 | 4.2 | 639 | 3.8 | UV failure |
| High liver function tests (LFT) | 311 | 7.8 | 1223 | 7.2 | UV failure |
| Low mean corpuscular volume (MCV) | 56 | 1.4 | 218 | 1.3 | UV failure |
| High MCV | 67 | 1.7 | 297 | 1.8 | UV failure |
| Low platelets | 33 | 0.8 | 123 | 0.7 | <1% frequency |
| High platelets | 91 | 2.3 | 369 | 2.2 | UV failure |
| Low sodium | 121 | 3.0 | 435 | 2.6 | UV failure |
| High sodium | 24 | 0.6 | 116 | 0.7 | <1% frequency |
| High thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) | 103 | 2.6 | 413 | 2.4 | UV failure |
| High urate | 7 | 0.2 | 23 | 0.1 | <1% frequency |
| Low white cell count (WCC) | 34 | 0.9 | 195 | 1.2 | UV failure |
| High WCC | 98 | 2.5 | 371 | 2.2 | UV failure |
Notes: 1) Frequency failures — frequency <1% in each of cases and controls. Nipple retraction and nipple discharge were just below 1% in univariate models but included in the multivariate model. 2) UV failure — P >0.1 in the univariable model.