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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2020 Sep 11;29(11):2358–2368. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-0723

Table 2.

Quantitative terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU) measures and breast cancer risk factors among 1083 controls. Data presented for age are means (95% confidence interval). Data for other variables are presented as age-adjusted means (95% confidence interval); age was adjusted as a continuous variable.

n Median TDLU span (μm) TDLU counts/mm2 Median acini counts/TDLU Median TDLU area (mm2)
Age at benign breast disease (BBD) biopsy
<40 years 244 0.56 (0.55,0.58) 0.48 (0.44,0.52) 7.56 (7.11,8.04) 0.11 (0.10,0.11)
40-49 years 431 0.52 (0.51,0.53) 0.49 (0.46,0.51) 7.52 (7.18,7.87) 0.09 (0.09,0.10)
50-59 years 272 0.47 (0.45,0.48) 0.43 (0.40,0.46) 5.32 (5.02,5.64) 0.07 (0.07,0.07)
≥60 years 136 0.46 (0.44,0.47) 0.38 (0.34,0.42) 4.33 (3.99,4.71) 0.07 (0.06,0.07)
p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

BBD histological subtype
Non-proliferative 303 0.49 (0.48,0.51) 0.43 (0.40,0.46) 6.40 (6.05,6.78) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
Proliferative without atypia 625 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.46 (0.44,0.48) 6.36 (6.12,6.62) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
Atypical hyperplasia 155 0.51 (0.50,0.53) 0.48 (0.44,0.53) 6.86 (6.33,7.43) 0.09 (0.08,0.10)
p-value 0.06 0.14 0.25 0.04

Body size at ages 5-10 years
Level 1 308 0.51 (0.50,0.53) 0.46 (0.43,0.49) 6.58 (6.22,6.97) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
Level 1.5 to 2 276 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.45 (0.42,0.48) 6.66 (6.27,7.07) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
Level ≥2.5 353 0.50 (0.49,0.51) 0.46 (0.44,0.49) 6.12 (5.80,6.45) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.44 0.84 0.07 0.10
Body mass index (kg/m2)
<25 612 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.45 (0.43,0.47) 6.52 (6.26,6.78) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
25 to <30 288 0.50 (0.49,0.52) 0.45 (0.42,0.48) 6.62 (6.24,7.01) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
≥30 169 0.51 (0.49,0.52) 0.48 (0.44,0.52) 5.90 (5.47,6.36) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.88 0.44 0.04 0.34

Age of menarche
≤12 years 515 0.50 (0.49,0.51) 0.46 (0.44,0.49) 6.46 (6.19,6.75) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
13 years 317 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.45 (0.42,0.48) 6.51 (6.16,6.88) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
≥14 years 246 0.51 (0.50,0.53) 0.45 (0.42,0.49) 6.29 (5.91,6.70) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.55 0.79 0.70 0.84
Parity
Nulliparous 101 0.48 (0.46,0.51) 0.33 (0.30,0.38) 5.20 (4.71,5.73) 0.08 (0.07,0.08)
Parous 978 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.47 (0.45,0.49) 6.58 (6.38,6.79) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.03 <0.001 <0.001 0.03
Age at first birth among parous women
<25 years 535 0.50 (0.49,0.51) 0.46 (0.44,0.49) 6.55 (6.28,6.83) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
25 to 29 years 347 0.51 (0.50,0.52) 0.49 (0.46,0.52) 6.42 (6.10,6.76) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
≥30 years 99 0.52 (0.50,0.54) 0.44 (0.39,0.50) 6.77 (6.14,7.46) 0.09 (0.08,0.10)
p-value 0.22 0.28 0.63 0.20
Birth index among parous women
≤30 226 0.52 (0.50,0.53) 0.47 (0.43,0.51) 6.43 (5.99,6.91) 0.09 (0.08,0.10)
31 to 59 275 0.52 (0.50,0.53) 0.48 (0.45,0.52) 7.29 (6.86,7.74) 0.09 (0.09,0.10)
≥60 218 0.52 (0.50,0.53) 0.51 (0.47,0.56) 7.05 (6.56,7.58) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.97 0.35 0.04 0.82
Breastfeeding among parous women
Never 390 0.50 (0.49,0.51) 0.46 (0.43,0.49) 6.39 (6.09,6.70) 0.08 (0.08,0.09)
<6 months 203 0.50 (0.49,0.52) 0.48 (0.44,0.52) 6.85 (6.41,7.32) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
≥6 months 292 0.51 (0.50,0.53) 0.47 (0.44,0.51) 6.50 (6.15,6.88) 0.09 (0.08,0.09)
p-value 0.43 0.70 0.25 0.65
Menopausal Status
Pre 667 0.52 (0.51,0.53) 0.49 (0.46,0.52) 7.35 (7.03,7.68) 0.09 (0.09,0.09)
Post 332 0.49 (0.47,0.50) 0.39 (0.36,0.43) 4.93 (4.59,5.29) 0.08 (0.07,0.08)
p-value <0.01 <0.01 <0.001 <0.001
% TDLU area (total) % TDLU area (non-adipose) Acini counts/mm2 Median acini density

Age at benign breast disease (BBD) biopsy
<40 years 11.15 (9.95,12.50) 13.08 (11.69,14.64) 9.27 (8.21,10.46) 80.88 (76.82,85.16)
40-49 years 7.87 (7.22,8.57) 9.64 (8.86,10.49) 7.64 (6.97,8.37) 90.92 (87.46,94.51)
50-59 years 4.90 (4.39,5.45) 6.19 (5.56,6.88) 4.41 (3.93,4.95) 83.00 (79.05,87.15)
≥60 years 3.39 (2.91,3.95) 4.45 (3.83,5.17) 2.80 (2.38,3.29) 73.01 (68.14,78.23)
p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

BBD histological subtype
Non-proliferative 4.99 (4.52,5.52) 6.26 (5.67,6.92) 5.01 (4.49,5.58) 87.47 (83.44,91.70)
Proliferative without atypia 7.59 (7.09,8.14) 9.31 (8.69,9.97) 6.52 (6.04,7.03) 82.51 (79.86,85.25)
Atypical hyperplasia 7.94 (6.90,9.15) 9.71 (8.45,11.17) 7.10 (6.09,8.28) 84.80 (79.34,90.64)
p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 0.13

Body size at ages 5-10 years
Level 1 7.45 (6.73,8.25) 9.16 (8.29,10.13) 6.66 (5.97,7.43) 84.80 (80.90,88.88)
Level 1.5 to 2 6.97 (6.26,7.75) 8.49 (7.64,9.44) 6.15 (5.48,6.91) 83.78 (79.72,88.03)
Level ≥2.5 6.41 (5.83,7.05) 7.98 (7.27,8.76) 5.82 (5.26,6.45) 83.00 (79.44,86.72)
p-value 0.10 0.14 0.21 0.81
Body mass index (kg/m2)
<25 6.84 (6.36,7.35) 8.34 (7.77,8.96) 6.10 (5.64,6.59) 83.86 (81.12,86.69)
25 to <30 6.85 (6.17,7.61) 8.46 (7.62,9.39) 6.36 (5.68,7.13) 87.02 (82.89,91.35)
≥30 6.49 (5.66,7.43) 8.28 (7.24,9.48) 5.73 (4.95,6.64) 80.77 (75.84,86.02)
p-value 0.78 0.96 0.54 0.18

Age of menarche
≤12 years 6.74 (6.24,7.29) 8.33 (7.71,9.00) 6.13 (5.64,6.67) 85.23 (82.21,88.36)
13 years 6.90 (6.25,7.63) 8.53 (7.73,9.41) 6.24 (5.61,6.95) 84.30 (80.51,88.26)
≥14 years 6.78 (6.06,7.59) 8.31 (7.43,9.29) 5.94 (5.26,6.71) 81.53 (77.39,85.90)
p-value 0.94 0.92 0.83 0.39
Parity
Nulliparous 4.41 (3.70,5.26) 5.44 (4.57,6.47) 3.52 (2.92,4.25) 73.92 (68.11,80.21)
Parous 7.10 (6.71,7.51) 8.75 (8.28,9.25) 6.48 (6.10,6.88) 85.33 (83.14,87.58)
p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.01
Age at first birth among parous women
<25 years 6.64 (6.15,7.16) 8.21 (7.62,8.85) 6.15 (5.67,6.66) 86.92 (83.92,90.04)
25 to 29 years 7.51 (6.83,8.24) 9.31 (8.48,10.21) 6.73 (6.09,7.45) 84.03 (80.44,87.79)
≥30 years 6.89 (5.78,8.22) 8.36 (7.03,9.94) 6.27 (5.19,7.56) 81.34 (74.95,88.28)
p-value 0.13 0.11 0.38 0.24
Birth index among parous women
≤30 7.48 (6.60,8.48) 9.20 (8.14,10.41) 6.64 (5.79,7.61) 80.05 (75.45,84.92)
31 to 59 7.77 (7.00,8.63) 9.57 (8.63,10.61) 7.24 (6.46,8.12) 88.67 (84.38,93.18)
≥60 7.95 (7.01,9.02) 9.74 (8.61,11.03) 7.70 (6.71,8.84) 90.27 (85.04,95.81)
p-value 0.82 0.83 0.37 0.01
Breastfeeding among parous women
Never 6.71 (6.14,7.33) 8.33 (7.64,9.09) 6.06 (5.51,6.66) 84.89 (81.52,88.41)
<6 months 6.88 (6.09,7.78) 8.48 (7.51,9.57) 6.54 (5.74,7.46) 89.52 (84.62,94.69)
≥6 months 7.38 (6.67,8.18) 9.11 (8.23,10.07) 6.70 (6.01,7.48) 84.58 (80.70,88.64)
p-value 0.37 0.41 0.35 0.25
Menopausal Status
Pre 7.76 (7.16,8.42) 9.52 (8.78,10.31) 7.49 (6.86,8.17) 89.94 (86.64,93.35)
Post 5.40 (4.73,6.15) 6.70 (5.89,7.63) 4.13 (3.59,4.75) 72.15 (67.93,76.63)
p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001