Metabolic syndrome components: Obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension as plausible biomarkers for breast cancer risk in Yemeni women: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprises obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, which are all important factors associated with a higher risk of breast cancer (BC) among overweight and obese women. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the components of MetS and the risk of BC, as well as whether these components could serve as potential biomarkers for BC risk. Methods The study included a total of sixty-nine (69) Yemeni women diagnosed with BC, with an average age of 48.17 ± 11.0 years. These participants were recruited from the Hadhramout National Oncology Center in Yemen and took part in a cross-sectional study conducted from 1st March to 30th June 2021. Various measures related to metabolic syndrome were assessed, including measures of adiposity (BMI, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WH ratio), blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), C-reactive protein (CRP), and insulin. Insulin resistance (IR) was determined by calculating the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Relsults More than half of the participants were diagnosed with BC stage II (53%), while the remaining had stage III (22%) or stage IV (25%). The results indicated positive correlations between systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r = 0.284, p = 0.018), total cholesterol (r = 0.373, p = 0.002), and LDL-C (r = 0.331, p = 0.005) with obesity. Furthermore, overweight and obese patients had significantly higher SBP (OR = 1.058, 95%CI = 1.007–1.111, p = 0.025), total cholesterol (OR = 1.023, 95%CI = 1.007–1.039, p = 0.004), and LDL-C (OR = 1.023, 95%CI = 1.006–1.041, p = 0.009) compared to those with normal weight. Additionally, hypertensive patients had significantly higher BMI (OR = 1.078, 95%CI = 1.006–1.155, p = 0.033) and HbA1c (OR = 1.868, 95%CI = 1.100-3.171, p = 0.021) than normotensive patients. Conclusion The findings of this study demonstrated increasing trends between BMI, SBP, HbA1c, total cholesterol, and LDL-C among Yemeni women with BC, indicating that obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension are closely associated with the development and progression of BC. Consequently, these results provide further evidence supporting the role of these components as potential biomarkers for an increased risk of BC.