• Mi Jin Bae, Sang Yeoup Lee, Yun Jin Kim, Jeong Gyu Lee, Dong Wook Jeong, Yu Hyeon Yi, Young Hye Cho, Eun Jung Choi, and Ki Seok Choo.
• Department of Family Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan, South Korea.
• J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2013 Jul 1; 22 (7): 625-30.

ObjectiveBreast arterial calcifications (BACs) are common but underreported findings on mammography. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between BACs, metabolic syndrome (MS), and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.Research Design And MethodsThis was a case-control study. A total of 101 women with BACs and 101 age-matched controls without BACs were included in the analysis. BACs were calculated using the mammography of both breasts, and then the total BACs were summed. MS was defined by using criteria from the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI). The 10-year estimated CHD relative risk (10-year CHD risk) was calculated based on the Framingham Scores. Metabolic characteristics were compared between the BAC positive group and the BAC negative group.ResultsDiabetes (P=0.039) and MS (P=0.043) were more frequently observed in the BAC positive group than in the BAC negative group. The only independent factor was MS (P=0.04). The 10-year CHD risk was higher in the BAC positive group than in the negative group (P=0.007). Furthermore, the more extensive the BACs, the greater increase in the 10-year CHD risk (r=0.167, P=0.018).ConclusionsFindings of BACs on mammogramy are associated with an increased risk of MS and the calculated risk of CHD in women older than 40 years of age.

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