Asian women who immigrated to the US have a higher risk of breast cancer than those born there.
NBC News reports that Asian female US immigrants could have a higher breast cancer risk than those born in America.
Published by the medical journal Preventing Chronic Disease, the study found that Asian women who immigrated to the US and spent over half their lives in the US had a higher risk of breast cancer than Asians born in the US.
The study was conducted with 570 women in the San Fransisco Bay Area between March 2013 and October 2014.
Those who spent over half their lives in the US were three times more likely to have breast cancer and those who spent less than 50% of their lives there were 2.46 times more likely.
Researchers believe that the result is caused by the “effects of globalization and economic development” such as later childbirth, breast cancer screenings and decreased breastfeeding.
Study co-author Brittany Morey said language and cultural needs need to be considered when talking about cancer.
“If true … we need to focus on treating breast cancer in this population, and there needs to be a focus on services for foreign-born Asian-American women,” she said. “Interventions are needed to increase breast cancer screening among both immigrant and U.S.-born Asian-American women to prevent breast cancer from progressing.”
