Thesis abstract:

«p style="text-align:justify"»Although the development of breast cancer (BC) may be dependent on the multifactorial process, a substantial body of epidemiological studies demonstrates that lifestyle factors play an important role in developing BC and prioritising these modifiable risk factors is important when developing strategies for BC prevention and better survival outcomes for BC survivors. However, there is a paucity of research evidence about how the patterns/combinations of lifestyle factors are associated with the incidence of BC, whether these have changed across generations. «/p» «p»The overarching aim of this study is to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the association between major lifestyle factors and the risk of breast cancer in more than one cohort and then quantify the impact. Using over 20 years of longitudinal survey data from three cohorts of women (born 1921-26, 1946-51 and1973-78) from 1996 to 2019 linked with Australian Cancer Data and National Death Index, this study aims to address the following specific research questions:«/p» «p»1. What are the patterns of lifestyle factors and breast cancer (BC) incidence among Australian women born in different generations?«/p» «p»2. How are the patterns of lifestyle factors associated with BC incidence at the different life stages of women’s lives?«/p» «p»3. Do lifestyle factors influence Australian women's adherence to breast cancer screening, and is there an association between adherence and breast cancer incidence?«/p» «p»4. Do other chronic comorbidities increase the risk of breast cancer? If so, what are the shared risk factors contributing to this relationship?«/p» «p»5. Can we predict the BC incidence in the younger cohort (born 9173-78) using the observed association between lifestyle factors and BC incidence among women in the mid-cohort (born 1946-51) given their past pattern of lifestyle?«/p»