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FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Chronic disease is associated with a substantial proportion of the risk of incident cancer and cancer mortality, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in The BMJ<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Huakang Tu, Ph.D., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues followed 405,878 participants for an average of 8.7 years in a prospective cohort study. Participants underwent measurement or diagnosis according to standard methods for cardiovascular disease markers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease markers, pulmonary disease, and a gouty arthritis marker.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that apart from blood pressure and pulmonary disease, there was a significantly increased risk of incident cancer for the diseases and markers individually, with adjusted hazard ratios varying from 1.07 to 1.44. There was a statistically significant association for all eight diseases and markers with the risk of cancer death, with adjusted hazard ratios varying from 1.12 to 1.7. There was a positive correlation for chronic disease risk scores summarizing the eight diseases and markers with cancer risk in a dose-response manner; the highest scores were correlated with a 2.21-fold increase in cancer incidence and a four-fold increase in cancer mortality. There was a correlation for high chronic disease scores with substantial years of life lost (13.3 and 15.9 years of life lost in men and women, respectively, for the highest scores).<\/p>\n
“Chronic disease is an overlooked risk factor for cancer, as important as five major lifestyle factors combined,” the authors write.<\/p>\n