Cardiovascular risk factor control among cancer survivors: A population-based survey

Abstract

6535 Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in long-term survivors of cancer. Whereas the burden of cardiovascular disease has been described in cancer survivors, the control of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in this population is unknown. Methods: We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2006) data to examine the rate of control of modifiable cardiac risk factors amongst US cancer survivors compared with propensity matched adult controls with no history of cancer. The modifiable cardiac risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, exercise, smoking) were considered to be controlled if they met the AHA/ACC guideline recommendations. Results: A total of 1,227 cancer survivors and 3,672 age, sex, and comorbidity matched controls were identified, representing 11.9 million cancer survivors and 31.2 million controls. Compared to age, sex and comorbidity matched controls cancer survivors were more likely to be current smokers (34.5% vs. 28.8%, p = 0.021), and more likely to have their BMI at target (32.8% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.034). There was no significant difference in the rate of blood pressure control (69.4% vs. 69.2%, p = 0.88), cholesterol control (47.6% vs. 48.2%, p = 0.80) or adherence to exercise recommendations (24.4% vs. 24.6%, p = 0.89). Younger cancer survivors (age 20–40 y) were 2.8 times more likely to be smokers than controls, whereas older cancer survivors (age 60–80y) were 1.2 times more likely to be smokers than controls. Compared with recent cancer survivors (10 years from diagnosis) were more likely to have optimal blood pressure control (73.3% vs. 65.5%, p = 0.02), however there was no difference in smoking rates, cholesterol, exercise or weight control with duration of cancer survival. Conclusions: Overall the control of modifiable cardiac risk factors was similar between survivors and controls, but was suboptimal in both groups. This study identified smoking cessation, particularly amongst young cancers survivors, as an important area of focus for improvement in survivorship care. No significant financial relationships to disclose.