Skip to main content
. 2019 Nov 13;14(11):e0224797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224797

Table 1. Characteristics of the study subjects.

Characteristics Tota (n = 1420)a Alcohol drinking at diagnosis
Never (n = 1015) Past (n = 48) Current (n = 357) pd
Person-years 11180.9 7922.7 348.6 2909.6  
All-cause death, n 261 206 8 47  
Cause of death, n
    Vascular diseases 15 15 0 0  
    Other cancers 21 17 0 4  
    Others 32 24 2 6  
    Breast cancer 193 150 6 37  
Age (years)
    Mean 57.2 59.3 56.1 51.4  
    S.D. 12.4 12.4 12.0 10.5 <0.001
Year of diagnosis (%)
    1997–2005 44.5 46.3 31.3 41.2  
    2006–2013 55.5 53.7 68.7 58.8 0.04
Stage (%)
    0-I 50.4 49.9 47.9 52.4  
    II 30.9 31.0 29.2 30.5  
    III 11.1 11.1 10.4 10.9  
    IV 6.4 6.6 10.4 5.3  
    Missing 1.3 1.4 2.1 0.8 0.92
Hormone receptor (%)
    ER+/PR+ 55.3 53.3 47.9 62.2  
    ER+/PR- 12.1 13.3 16.7 8.1  
    ER-/PR+ 1.6 1.8 0.0 1.1  
    ER-/PR- 24.0 23.8 27.1 24.1  
    Missing 7.0 7.8 8.3 4.5 0.03
Referral status (%)
    From screening 18.5 18.7 12.5 18.8  
    Other 81.5 81.3 87.5 81.2 0.55
Radiation (%)
    No 59.6 62.2 56.3 52.9  
    Yes 40.4 37.8 43.7 47.1 0.01
Chemotherapy (%)
    No 68.8 70.1 60.4 66.1  
    Yes 31.2 29.9 39.6 33.9 0.16
Endocrine therapy (%)
    No 56.0 55.7 58.3 56.6  
    Yes 44.0 44.3 41.7 43.4 0.90
Family history of breast cancer in father, mother, brother or sister (%)
    No 90.0 89.8 95.8 89.9  
    Yes 10.0 10.2 4.2 10.1 0.39
Age at menarche (years, %)
    ≤12 32.3 28.6 33.3 42.9  
    13 22.3 21.8 16.7 24.4  
    14 20.4 20.1 25.0 20.5  
    ≥15 20.9 24.5 22.9 10.1  
    Missing 4.2 5.0 2.1 2.2 <0.001
Parity history (%)
    Nulliparous 10.8 9.8 18.7 12.6  
    Parous 85.8 86.3 77.1 85.4  
    Missing 3.4 3.9 4.2 2.0 0.08
Menopausal status (%)
    Premenopausal 38.0 31.7 31.2 56.9  
    Postmenopausal 57.1 63.8 62.5 37.3  
    Missing 4.9 4.4 6.3 5.9 <0.001
Smoking (%)
    Never 80.3 87.2 54.2 64.1  
    Ever 17.9 11.1 43.8 33.6  
    Missing 1.8 1.7 2.1 2.2 <0.001
Physical activity (%)
    Almost no 50.3 49.4 45.8 53.5  
    More than one hour per week 43.6 43.6 45.8 43.4  
    Missing 6.1 7.1 8.3 3.1 0.08
BMI (kg/m2, %)
    <21.1 25.1 21.7 25.0 34.7  
    21.1-<23.3 23.9 22.9 20.8 27.2  
    23.3-<26.0 25.2 26.1 25.0 22.7  
    ≥26.0 24.7 28.2 29.2 14.3  
    Missing 1.1 1.2 0.0 1.1 <0.001
Comorbidities (%)b
    No 76.0 73.4 68.8 84.3  
    Yes 24.0 26.6 31.2 15.7 <0.001
Occupation (%)
    Housewife 19.4 20.6 16.7 16.3  
    Other 68.2 65.0 70.8 77.0  
    Missing 12.4 14.4 12.5 6.7 <0.001
Dietary intake (mean ± SD)
    Folate intake (μg per day)c 211.2 ± 71.9 216.1 ± 74.2 199.7 ± 78.0 199.0 ± 62.5 <0.001
    Energy intake (kcal per day) 1193.7 ± 272.6 1192.3 ± 272.5 1133.4 ± 350.8 1205.7 ± 260.3 0.22

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; ER, estrogen receptor; PR, progesterone receptor.

aPatients for whom data on history of alcohol drinkin were missing (n = 48) have been excluded.

bComorbidities include hypertension / ischemic heart disease / stroke / diabetes mellitus.

cEnergy-adjusted intake.

dChi-square test or anaysis of variance for comparing frequencies and means among never, past, and current drinkers.

HHS Vulnerability Disclosure