Anjum et al. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research www.ejpmr.com 629 LIFE STYLE CHARACTERISTICS: RISK FACTOR FOR BREAST CANCER Fakhsheena Anjum 1* , Nighat Razvi 2 , M. Ali Masood 1 and Mahwish Sajid 3 1 Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. 2 Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Pakistan. 3 KIRAN Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Article Received on 17/02/2017 Article Revised on 07/03/2017 Article Accepted on 28/03/2017 INTRODUCTION The incidence of breast carcinoma has augmented universally with time [1] (Hery et al., 2008) . This increase in the occurrence of breast cancer has been found in developing countries worldwide which may be due to the increased accessibility of healthcare settings that help in the diagnosis of the ailment [1] . The forms of breast cancer are complicated and multifarious than its occurrence [2,3] . Breast malignancy is also the most prevalent cancer in Asian females and its incidence has been rising in Asia [4] . The occurrence of breast malignancy in Pakistan is on top in Asia after Israel and 2.5 times higher than that in some nearby countries, accounting for 34.6% of female cancers [5] . Scarce information regarding breast cancer etiology and epidemiology in Pakistan necessitates awareness and investigation about its susceptibility factors in the inhabitants so as to avert or treat and decrease its frequency. The Western system of living is unlike that of Pakistani communities; thus all the globally well-known risk factors of breast cancer are not valid here and need to be studied statistically to understand its incidence. The risk factors associated with breast cancer have been considered and identified in various studies [6,7] . Occurrence of breast cancer differs according to genetic, reproductive as well as cultural, environmental and life- style aspects; it also differs due to diversity of these factors within miscellaneous ethnicity and geographical zones. This acmes the massive requirement for such studies in all varied populations [5, 8, 9] . Age has been considered as the solidest recognized risk factor for breast malignancy in females; its relationship with breast cancer is described to be lesser in the younger age but it then rises as the age is more than 40 years [10] . Body mass index has been linked with escalated breast cancer risk, principally in postmenopausal women [11,12] . Obesity in post menopausal women has been identified to enhance both breast cancer risk and mortality [13,14] . Some researches SJIF Impact Factor 4.161 Research Article ISSN 2394-3211 EJPMR EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH www.ejpmr.com ejpmr, 2017,4(4), 629-641 *Corresponding Author: Dr. Fakhsheena Anjum Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify various life style risk factors of breast cancer in Pakistani females. This was an observational case control study. The breast cancer cases (n= 811) were from KIRAN hospital, Karachi and the control group (n= 1154) was population based, also from Karachi city. A researcher administered questionnaire was used with face to face interviews with the study subjects, from April 2011 to April 2012. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Mean age of the control group was 45.85±9.97 years and that of the breast cancer cases was 47.02± 11.79 years. More than 90% females were housewives (p=0.002) among which more than 50% had interfamily marriage (p<0.001). Only 30% controls and about 60% cases consumed milk regularly (p<0.001) with majority consuming fresh milk (p<0.001). The family history of breast cancer was found in 15.65% cases only (p<0.001). From binary logistic analysis it was seen that odds were higher for developing breast carcinoma regarding interfamily marriage (p<0.001), housewives (p=0.003) and regular milk consumption (p<0.001). The odds were much higher for illiterate subjects (p<0.001) and in those having concomitant hypertension and diabetes mellitus (p<0.001). Bivariate adjusted models in logistic regression analysis also revealed higher odds regarding these factors for the attainment of breast carcinoma; multivariate logistic regression analysis further supported that specifically interfamily marriage and regular milk consumption had much higher odds for the development of breast cancer. The results have revealed various life style factors that are potential risk for the development of breast carcinoma in the Pakistani females and these risk factors may vary worldwide due to environmental and cultural disparities; hence very important in detecting specific population at risk of breast cancer. KEY WORDS: Breast cancer, risk factors, life style characteristics.