Your Lifestyle And Your Location Could Decide Whether You Will Get The Dreaded C | Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2025
Women living in regions with poor air quality, especially neighbourhoods with heavy car emissions, are more likely to develop breast cancer, says new research.
Published : October 31, 2025 at 3:31 PM IST
Women who live in areas with polluted air may have a higher chance of developing breast cancer, suggests new research published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study analysed data from more than 400,000 women and 28,000 breast cancer cases in the US. A 10-parts-per-billion increase in nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) — a gas mainly released from car exhaust — was linked to a 3% rise in breast cancer cases.
Since NO₂ levels reflect how much traffic pollution a person breathes in, that 3% could translate to about 9,500 fewer breast cancer cases each year in the U.S. if NO₂ pollution were reduced. The study also found that higher exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — tiny particles that can enter deep into the lungs — was linked to a higher risk of hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, a more aggressive form that’s harder to treat.
The study was led by Alexandra White from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and involved scientists from several universities, including Harvard, the University of Washington, Indiana University, Stony Brook University, UC San Diego, Ohio State, and UNC Chapel Hill. It was supported by multiple U.S. health agencies, such as the EPA, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Clean Air Laws Needed
Said Dr. Parnamita Bhattacharya, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, CMRI Kolkata, “This link between outdoor air pollution and breast cancer highlights two immediate imperatives. First, environmental exposures should be treated as part of a patient’s risk profile. Taking a focused exposure and residential history can help identify women who might benefit from closer surveillance or earlier diagnostic work-up, particularly because pollution-associated tumours have been reported to be more often hormone-receptor negative and biologically aggressive. Second, the putative mechanisms such as chronic oxidative stress, local and systemic inflammation, and possible endocrine-disrupting effects of some pollutants reinforce why established, modifiable risks such as obesity, alcohol intake, sedentary behaviour, exogenous hormone use must be actively managed to reduce cumulative carcinogenic burden.”
“People can’t always just move to cleaner areas,” said Veronica Irvin, a public health researcher at Oregon State University and one of the study’s authors. “That’s why we need stronger clean air laws, fewer cars on the road, and better support for public transport and green travel.” Irvin also pointed out that the average nitrogen dioxide levels in the study were still below the safety limits currently set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — suggesting that even “acceptable” levels of pollution might still pose a health risk.
Lifestyle Factors
Research has found that breast and reproductive health are not isolated systems but mirror reflections of the body’s overall hormonal environment. In that sense, preventive choices such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutrient-rich diet, staying physically active, moderating alcohol, and avoiding tobacco are not merely protective against cancer but also maintain a good foundation for reproductive health and fertility.
Says Dr. Vaani Mehta, Fertility Specialist, Birla Fertility & IVF, Chandigarh, “There are many lifestyle factors that are known to raise a woman’s risk of breast cancer that also impact her fertility. Excess body fat, for instance, doesn’t only alter oestrogen metabolism in breast tissue, but also disrupts ovulation and hormone balance, making conception more difficult. Similarly, alcohol and smoking, both well-established contributors to cancer, can impair ovarian reserve, egg quality, and implantation potential, even chronic stress. What links these seemingly separate pathways is the delicate interplay of hormones, metabolism, and inflammation.”
The conversation around women’s health, therefore, must move beyond prevention to encompass the preservation of hormonal harmony. “The same lifestyle that safeguards a woman from breast cancer may, in many ways, also protect her ability to create life,” adds Dr. Mehta. Says Dr. Bhattacharya, “These findings reinforce that breast cancer prevention must go beyond individual behaviour. At CMRI, through initiatives such as our free cervical cancer vaccination drive, we have seen first-hand how prevention and awareness can dramatically change health outcomes. The same principle applies to breast cancer: proactive steps, screening, or mitigating environmental risks, can significantly reduce the burden of disease.”
Source:
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308247
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