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Study: Guidelines for Cancer Prevention Helpful for Other Diseases Too

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other-diseases-benefit-from-cancer-prevention-guidelines Ron Chapple Studios/Thinkstock

Beyond avoiding tobacco, following other cancer prevention guidelines may substantially lower your risk of premature death, according to a long-term study by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The study looked at more than 100,000 men and women over 14 years and found nonsmokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention had a lower risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-causes as older adults.

Few previous studies had evaluated the combined impact of following recommended lifestyle behaviors on cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality, and most of those included tobacco avoidance as one of the recommendations. Since 8 in 10 Americans are never or former smokers, researchers wanted to more clearly understand the impact of other recommended behaviors.

Marji McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology at ACS, led the study. She and her colleagues used data from nearly 112,000 non-smoking men and women in a large cancer prevention study to gage the impact of lifestyle habits independent of smoking.

Participants were then scored on a range from 0 to 8 points to reflect adherence to the ACS cancer prevention guidelines regarding body mass index, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption, with 8 points representing adherence to all of the recommendations simultaneously.

The ACS guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity focus on four main areas:

• Maintaining a healthy body weight (BMI between 18.5 and 24.9) throughout life

• Getting at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, above and beyond normal activities, every day

• Eating a healthy diet with at least five servings of vegetables and fruits daily, whole grains instead of processed ones, and limiting red and processed meats

• Limiting alcohol intake to no more than one drink a day for women or two for men, if you drink at all

The researchers looked at how closely people followed each of these recommendations over 14 years. Keeping a healthy body weight seemed to have the most impact on death risk from cancer, heart disease, and all causes. Being overweight or obese is linked to several types of cancer, as well as heart disease and diabetes.

After 14 years, men and women with high compliance scores (7, 8) had a 42 percent lower risk of death compared to those with low scores (0-2). Risk of cardiovascular disease death were 48 percent lower among men and 58 percent lower among women, while the risk of cancer death was 30 percent lower in men and 24 percent lower in women.

Similar associations, though not all statistically significant, were observed between never and former smokers.

The advice to eat better, exercise more and stay at a healthy weight is not new. Many health organizations have similar guidelines.

“But what this study showed was that they can have a major impact on reducing risk of mortality and death from cancer, ” said McCullough on a YouTube video.

The study appeared early online in Cancer Biomarkers, Epidemiology, and Prevention.

Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast living in San Diego, CA with her husband and two beach loving dogs. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in newspapers and magazines around the world.

Sources and Patient Information:

“Following cancer prevention guidelines reduces risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.” Marjorie L McCullough, Alpa V Patel, Lawrence H Kushi, Roshni Patel, Walter C Willett, Colleen Doyle, Michael J Thun, and Susan Gapstur. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev April 5, 2011 ; Published OnlineFirst April 5, 2011; doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-1173. Abstract online at: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2011/03/31/1055-9965.EPI-10-1173.abstract

ACS Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention. American Cancer Society. Available online at: http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/EatHealthyGetActive/ACSGuidelinesonNutritionPhysicalActivityforCancerPrevention/nupa-guidelines-toc

Marji McCullough. Behind the Science: Cancer Prevention to Lower Death. American Cancer Society YouTube video. Available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPW6mzrIDxc

Reviewed April 12, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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