SynthesisPLoS medicine2017
Mammographic density and ageing: A collaborative pooled analysis of cross-sectional data from 22 countries worldwide.
Synthesis in PLoS medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 189 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between mammographic density and breast cancer risk in Chinese women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2024Pooled it
- Repeated measures of mammographic density and texture to evaluate prediction and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review of the methods used in the literature.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of bariatric surgery on breast density in adult obese women: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Pooled it
- Studies of parenchymal texture added to mammographic breast density and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review of the methods used in the literature.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2022Pooled it
- Reproductive Factors and Mammographic Density: Associations Among 24,840 Women and Comparison of Studies Using Digitized Film-Screen Mammography and Full-Field Digital Mammography.American journal of epidemiology · 2019Pooled it
- Effect of a Randomized Trial of a Web-Based Intervention on Patient-Provider Communication About Breast Density.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2021Trial
- Tumor Characteristics and Event Free Survival in Older and Younger Women with Early Breast Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Breast Cancer Risk After Benign Breast Disease Among Racially Diverse Women: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Research square · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Mammographic Breast Density Changes and Associated Factors in Older Korean Women.Radiology. Imaging cancer · 2026Article
- The DeepJoint Algorithm: An Innovative Approach for Studying the Longitudinal Evolution of Quantitative Mammographic Density and Its Association With Screen-Detected Breast Cancer Risk.Biometrical journal. Biometrische Zeitschrift · 2026Article
- Generalizability of an AI-based mammogram risk score (MRS) for breast cancer among diverse populations of women.Science advances · 2026Article
- Association Between Baseline Mammographic Breast Density and the Incidence of Natural Menopause in Korean Women: A Nationwide Population-Based Study Using National Health Screening Data.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Article
- A framework for simulation of temporal evolution and longitudinal studies of breast anatomy in radiology.Medical physics · 2025Article
- Little women: the relevance and reliance on mouse models for mammary gland research and next steps for translation.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2025Review
- Assessing mammographic density change within individuals across screening rounds using deep learning-based software.Journal of medical imaging (Bellingham, Wash.) · 2025Article
- Breast Density Changes after Risk-Reducing Salpingo-oophorectomy in Women with a Pathogenic Germline Variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025Article
- Studying the association between longitudinal nondense breast tissue measurements and the risk of breast cancer: a joint modeling approach.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- A Review of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Evidence Relevant to the Impact of Postdiagnosis Isoflavone Intake on Breast Cancer Outcomes.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Mammographic Density in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk Factors among Chinese Women.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
54 authors at 20 institutions in 22 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMammographic density (MD) is one of the strongest breast cancer risk factors. Its age-related characteristics have been studied in women in western countries, but whether these associations apply to women worldwide is not known. METHODS AND
findingsWe examined cross-sectional differences in MD by age and menopausal status in over 11,000 breast-cancer-free women aged 35-85 years, from 40 ethnicity- and location-specific population groups across 22 countries in the International Consortium on Mammographic Density (ICMD). MD was read centrally using a quantitative method (Cumulus) and its square-root metrics were analysed using meta-analysis of group-level estimates and linear regression models of pooled data, adjusted for body mass index, reproductive factors, mammogram view, image type, and reader. In all, 4,534 women were premenopausal, and 6,481 postmenopausal, at the time of mammography. A large age-adjusted difference in percent MD (PD) between post- and premenopausal women was apparent (-0.46 cm [95% CI: -0.53, -0.39]) and appeared greater in women with lower breast cancer risk profiles; variation across population groups due to heterogeneity (I2) was 16.5%. Among premenopausal women, the √PD difference per 10-year increase in age was -0.24 cm (95% CI: -0.34, -0.14; I2 = 30%), reflecting a compositional change (lower dense area and higher non-dense area, with no difference in breast area). In postmenopausal women, the corresponding difference in √PD (-0.38 cm [95% CI: -0.44, -0.33]; I2 = 30%) was additionally driven by increasing breast area. The study is limited by different mammography systems and its cross-sectional rather than longitudinal nature.
conclusionsDeclines in MD with increasing age are present premenopausally, continue postmenopausally, and are most pronounced over the menopausal transition. These effects were highly consistent across diverse groups of women worldwide, suggesting that they result from an intrinsic biological, likely hormonal, mechanism common to women. If cumulative breast density is a key determinant of breast cancer risk, younger ages may be the more critical periods for lifestyle modifications aimed at breast density and breast cancer risk reduction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.