OBJECT: The 2-fold higher incidence of meningioma in women compared with men has 
long suggested a role for hormonally mediated risk factors, but specific 
mechanisms remain elusive.
METHODS: The study included data obtained in 1127 women 29-79 years of age with 
intracranial meningioma diagnosed among residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
North Carolina, the San Francisco Bay Area, and 8 Texas counties between May 1, 
2006, and October 6, 2011, and data obtained in 1092 control individuals who 
were frequency matched for age group and geography with meningioma patients.
RESULTS: No association was observed for age at menarche, age at menopause, or 
parity and meningioma risk. Women who reported breastfeeding for at least 6 
months were at reduced risk of meningioma (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63-0.96). A 
significant positive association existed between meningioma risk and increased 
body mass index (p < 0.01) while a significant negative association existed 
between meningioma risk and current smoking (p < 0.01). Among premenopausal 
women, current use of oral contraceptives was associated with an increased risk 
of meningiomas (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.9), while current use of hormone 
replacement therapy among postmenopausal women was not associated with a 
significant elevation in risk (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.74-1.67). There was no 
association between use of fertility medications and meningioma risk.
CONCLUSIONS: The authors' study confirms associations for body mass index, 
breastfeeding, and cigarette smoking but provides little evidence for 
associations of reproductive and menstrual factors with meningioma risk. The 
relationship between current use of exogenous hormones and meningioma remains 
unclear, limited by the small numbers of patients currently on oral hormone 
medications and a lack of hormone receptor data for meningioma tumors.