Background: Breast cancer (breast Ca) is recognised as a major public health problem in the world. Data on reproductive factors associated with breast Ca in the Central African Republic (CAR) is very limited. This study aimed to identify reproductive variables as risk factors for breast Ca in CAR women.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 174 cases of breast Ca confirmed at the Pathology Unit of the National Laboratory in Bangui between 2003 and 2015 and 348 age-matched controls. Data collection tools included a questionnaire, interviews and a review of medical records of patients. Data were analysed using SPSS software version 20. Odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of developing breast Ca were obtained using unconditional logistic regression.
Results: In total, 522 women with a mean age of 45.8 (SD = 13.4) years were enrolled. Women with breast Ca were more likely to have attained little or no education (AOR = 11.23, CI: 4.65-27.14 and AOR = 2.40, CI: 1.15-4.99), to be married (AOR = 2.09, CI: 1.18-3.71), to have had an abortion (AOR = 5.41, CI: 3.47-8.44), and to be nulliparous (AOR = 1.98, CI: 1.12-3.49). Decreased odds of breast Ca were associated with being employed (AOR = 0.32, CI: 0.19-0.56), living in urban areas (AOR = 0.16, CI: 0.07-0.37), late menarche (AOR = 0.18, CI: 0.07-0.44), regular menstrual cycles (AOR = 0.44, CI: 0.23-0.81), term pregnancy (AOR = 0.26, CI: 0.13-0.50) and hormonal contraceptive use (AOR = 0.62, CI: 0.41-0.93).
Conclusion: Breast Ca risk factors in CAR did not appear to be significantly different from that observed in other populations. This study highlighted the risk factors of breast Ca in women living in Bangui to inform appropriate control measures.
Keywords: Bangui; Breast cancer; Central African Republic; Reproductive factors; Women.