The Association of Dietary Fat with Ability to Obtain Breast Fluid by Nipple Aspiration1

The ability to obtain breast fluid by nipple aspiration was examined in relation to self-reported dietary fat intake in 1347 white and 153 black women. Study participants were between 20 and 59 years of age, were not pregnant or breastfeeding, and had no history of breast cancer. The proportion of women from whom nipple aspirate fluid was obtained increased with increasing dietary fat consumption; the odds ratio for obtaining breast fluid was 1.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.8) in white women who consumed over 90 g of fat/ day compared with those who consumed less than 50 g of fat/day, adjusting for age, smoking, and parity. Among black women, the association was much stronger; the odds ratio for obtaining nipple aspirate fluid in those who consumed over 90 g of fat/ day was 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.3-10.1) compared with those who consumed less than 50 g of fat/day. In both blacks and whites, the associations were most pronounced in women aged 30-44 years. These findings suggest a relationship between dietary fat consumption and breast secretion.