Lifestyle Risk Factors and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Inhwan Lee,Hyunsik Kang,Shinuk Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph16173040

Abstract

This study examined the association between lifestyle risk factors and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in 9945 Korea adults (56% women) aged 45 years and older. Smoking, heavy alcohol intake, underweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and unintentional weight loss (UWL) were included as risk factors. During 9.6 ± 2.0 years of follow-up, there were a total of 1530 cases of death from all causes, of which 365 cases were from CVD. Compared to a zero risk factor (hazard ratio, HR = 1), the crude HR of all-cause mortality was 1.864 (95% CI, 1.509–2.303) for one risk factor, 2.487 (95% confidence interval, CI, 2.013–3.072) for two risk factors, and 3.524 (95% CI, 2.803–4.432) for three or more risk factors. Compared to a zero risk factor (HR = 1), the crude HR of CVD mortality was 2.566 (95% CI, 1.550–4.250) for one risk factor, 3.655 (95% CI, 2.211–6.043) for two risk factor, and 5.416 (95% CI, 3.185–9.208) for three or more risk factors. The HRs for all-cause and CVD mortality remained significant even after adjustments for measured covariates. The current findings showed that five lifestyle risk factors, including smoking, at-risk alcohol consumption, underweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and UWL, were significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in Korean adults.

Highlights

A large proportion of global deaths from all causes and diseases has been attributed to modifiable risk factors, including smoking, heavy alcohol intake, unhealthy body weights, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets
The current findings showed that five lifestyle risk factors, including smoking, at-risk alcohol consumption, underweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and unintentional weight loss (UWL), were significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Korean adults
Exploring the associations between lifestyle risk factors and all-cause and CVD mortality in the Korean longitudinal study of aging (KLoSA) population would be of great significance for men and women in other cities of Korea and for men and women in other Asian countries with similar culture and lifestyle. In this population-based study, we investigated the association between lifestyle risk factors and all-cause and CVD mortality in Korean adults

Summary

Introduction

A large proportion of global deaths from all causes and diseases has been attributed to modifiable risk factors, including smoking, heavy alcohol intake, unhealthy body weights, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets (https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/en/). Healthy behaviors, including non-smoking, moderate alcohol intake, healthy body weights, physical activity, and healthy diets, are associated with a lower risk of premature death from all causes and diseases [1]. Along with those existing risk factors, unintentional weight loss (UWL) is emerging as an independent risk factor. Adding UWL to the existing risk factors will provide more meaningful information for better understanding the etiology of premature death from all causes and CVD. Healthy lifestyle behaviors characterized by regular diet, exercise, and health screening, are associated with better physical and mental health conditions in Korean adults [8]

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Conclusion