"What surprised me about these results was the magnitude of the excess risk, particularly for breast cancer," says Ronald K. Ross, M.D., professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair in Preventive Medicine at the Keck School. "There are some serious issues here that need to be understood and addressed. This high risk is particularly alarming given the large number of active and retired female teachers residing in California."
Investigators believe teachers tend to share certain lifestyle and environmental factors that may help protect them from cancer or increase risk.
They found these characteristics among participating teachers and compared them to similar women throughout California:
"Over the next few years, we will use the information provided by teachers to better understand the causes of certain cancers and other health conditions among women," says Dennis Deapen, Dr. P.H., professor of clinical preventive medicine at the Keck School and director of the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program.
No one knows exactly why, but women with more education and income are at higher risk for breast cancer. This is at least partly because women who delay having their first child and have fewer children-until after college or starting a career, for example-are at increased risk.
Breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers share some of these reproductive risk factors. Teachers in the study tended to have their first baby later and had fewer children in total. Teachers also had high rates of use of hormone replacement therapy, which may be linked to breast cancer. These factors, however, do not appear to entirely explain the excess risk, according to Ross.
Meanwhile, cervical cancer, a disease occurring less frequently among teachers, can be prevented through Pap testing-and a substantial 91 percent of pa
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