Does the consumption of vegetables and fruits have different effects among premenopausal versus postmenopausal women?
The relationship between vegetable and fruit consumption and breast cancer risk does not appear to be affected by women’s menopausal stage. The causes of preand postmenopausal breast cancer, although not well understood, may be different. Thus, it is possible that their risk factors could be different. Several studies have reported that premenopausal women who ate a lot of vegetables had a larger decrease in breast cancer risk than postmenopausal women who ate a lot of vegetables. But most studies, including a pooled analysis of cohort studies, have not detected any risk difference between pre- and postmenopausal women. Could some women benefit more than others from eating vegetables and fruits? There are suggestions but no clear demonstration that some women may benefit more than others from eating vegetables and fruits. For example, one cohort study conducted as part of the Nurses Health Study examined the breast cancer risk of premenopausal women with a family history of breast canc
