Exposure to second-hand smoke and breast cancer risk in non-smoking women: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Irene Possenti, Marco Scala, Giulia Carreras, Vincenzo Bagnardi, Cristina Bosetti, Giuseppe Gorini, Caterina Maci, Maria Chiara Malevolti, Anna Odone, Luc Smits, Claudia Specchia, Silvano Gallus, Alessandra Lugo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

Through the use of an innovative method to identify original publications, we conducted a meta-analysis of all epidemiological studies evaluating the association between second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure and breast cancer risk among female non-smokers published in English up to October 2022. Pooled relative risks (RR) were obtained through the use of random-effects models. Dose-response relationships were derived using log-linear functions. Out of 73 identified eligible studies, 63 original articles were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled RR for breast cancer for overall exposure to SHS was 1.24 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.15-1.34, number of articles, n = 52). Regarding the setting of exposure, RRs were 1.17 (95% CI 1.08-1.27, n = 37) for SHS exposure at home, 1.03 (95% CI 0.98-1.08, n = 15) at the workplace, 1.24 (95% CI 1.11-1.37, n = 16) at home or workplace, and 1.45 (95% CI 1.16-1.80, n = 13) for non-specified settings. The risk of breast cancer increased linearly with higher duration (RR 1.29; 95% CI 1.04-1.59 for 40 years of SHS exposure, n = 12), intensity (RR 1.38; 95% CI 1.14-1.67 for 20 cigarettes of SHS exposure per day, n = 6), and pack-years (RR 1.50; 95% CI 0.92-2.45 for 40 SHS pack-years, n = 6) of SHS exposure. This meta-analysis shows a statistically significant excess risk of breast cancer in women exposed to SHS.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1116-1125
Number of pages10
JournalBritish Journal of Cancer
Volume131
Issue number7
Early online date28 Jun 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Oct 2024

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