Association Between Cardiovascular Health Metrics and Cancer Mortality in Men and Women

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Whether cardiovascular health (CV) metrics relates to cancer mortality in US population remains less explored. PURPOSE: We investigated the combined effects of 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics on cancer mortality in men and women. METHODS: We followed a total of 16,506 men and women, aged 20 to 85 years, who participated in the 1999-2010 National Health Examination Survey. All participants completed baseline lifestyle factors and lifestyle behavior questionnaires. The 7 ideal CV metrics were defined as never smoked, physically active, a healthy diet, waist girth (<102/88 cm), untreated blood pressure (<120/80 mmHg), untreated total cholesterol (<200 mg/dL), and untreated fasting glucose (<100 mg/dL) defined by the American Heart Association. We further categorized these variables as having 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to 7 combined cardiovascular health metrics. RESULTS: During an average of 8.6 years of follow-up (141,292 person-years), there were a total of 337 cancer deaths. Men and women with 5 to 7 ideal CV metrics had a lower cancer deaths (3.1%), while men and women with 3 or less ideal CV metrics had greater cancer deaths (89.1%). After adjustment for age, sex, race, and multiple baseline risk factors, men and women with all 5 to 7 combined ideal health metrics had a 70% (95% CI: 14% to 72%) lower risk of cancer mortality compared with men and women with zero ideal health metrics. The risks of cancer mortality across 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to 7 ideal health metrics were (95% CI) 1.00 (referent), 0.92 (0.65, 1.31), 0.75 (0.51, 1.12), 0.57 (0.40, 0.83), 0.56 (0.32, 0.96), and 0.40 (0.18, 0.86) (p for trend <0.001), respectively. Men and women with increasing number ideal health metrics had a substantially lower risk of cancer mortality. Men and women with 5 to 7 compared with 0 combined ideal health metrics had a longer life expectancy by 11.8 years (95% CI: 1.0 to 20.5 years). Approximately 46% (95% CI: 11% to 73%) of all cancer deaths might have been avoided if men and women had adopted 5 or more combined health factors and healthy lifestyle behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The AHA’s 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics is associated with lower risk of cancer mortality and longer life expectancy in men and women. This study was supported by Medi Plus Solution Co., Ltd.