Preventing cancer helps reduce heart risk

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Non-smokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention not only reduced their cancer risk but also reduced heart disease risk, U.S. researchers say.

For the study, Marji McCullough of the American Cancer Society and colleagues used diet and lifestyle questionnaires filled out in 1992 and 1993 by 111,966 non-smoking men and women in the Cancer Prevention Study (CPS)-II Nutrition Cohort.

The study participants were scored from 0 to 8 on how they adhered to the American Cancer Society cancer prevention guidelines regarding body mass index, physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption. Eight points indicated adherence to all of the recommendations simultaneously, McCullough says.

The study found that after 14 years, men and women with high compliance scores of 7 or 8 had a 42 percent lower risk of death compared to those with low scores of 0 to 2.

Cardiovascular disease deaths were 48 percent lower among men and 58 percent lower among women and the risk of cancer death was 30 percent lower in men and 24 percent lower in women.

Beyond avoiding tobacco, following other cancer prevention guidelines may substantially lower risk of premature mortality in older adults, the study authors conclude.

The findings are published online in the Cancer Biomarkers, Epidemiology and Prevention.