Husna, Amity University Kolkata
Over the past decade, the rate of cancer survival has increased. China has about one-fifth of global cancer cases, and the life expectancy of cancer patients ranges from 2.4 to 11.2 years, according to the data from the population study. Based on published studies, efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality of cancer have been advocated in the general population. Previous studies have shown that four major unhealthy lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol use, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet contributed to at least 60% of premature deaths which lead to a loss of 7.4–17.9 years in life expectancy. However, it was unclear whether adopting a healthy lifestyle by cancer patients will also have similar beneficial effects on life expectancy.
Hence, a city-wide prospective cohort study of cancer survivors was carried out to explore the associations of the individual with the healthy lifestyle factors as well as the risk of mortality in cancer survivors. It was also explored if adherence to healthy lifestyles was associated with life expectancy. Results of this study will facilitate the provision of holistic care, implement preventive strategies and improve the quality of life in cancer survivors based on the evidence. The results of the study showed that survivors who adopted healthy lifestyle behaviours had significantly lower risks of death. So, it should be very important in primary care settings to promote healthy lifestyles.
The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Health Professions Follow-up Study (HPFS) showed that there was a lower risk of cancer mortality and a longer life expectancy if one adheres to no smoking, regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and maintenance of normal weight. A large study in Europe found that even the participants without having any chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes) but with at least 2 high-risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity, had a shorter life expectancy by 6 years compared to those without any of these three risk factors. The EPIC-Heidelberg cohort study in Germany showed a longer life expectancy by 17.0 years in men and 13.9 years in women at age 40 by strict adherence to healthy lifestyles such as no smoking, healthier BMI, no-to-low alcohol use, and low processed/red meat consumption. Furthermore, the Singapore Chinese Health Study also showed a longer life expectancy of 8.1 years in women and 6.6 years in men at age 50 by adherence to 4–5 healthy lifestyle factors, in comparison to those without any healthy lifestyle factors. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption was shown to be protective in the general population and there is no safe limit for alcohol intake in most cancer survivors because alcohol use was significantly associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality and lower life expectancy in cancer survivors. However, evidence related to the association of adopting healthy lifestyles with the risk of mortality and life expectancy in cancer survivors was limited.
So, for the first time, recent results have shown that even in cancer survivors, adherence to healthier lifestyle behaviours still exerts beneficial effects and needs to be encouraged. Hence, these results might provide a shred of important supplementary evidence to be utilized in clinical practice and can be used for health promotion in primary care and clinical practice.
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Reference: Sun, Ce, et al. “Association of Healthy Lifestyle Score with All-Cause Mortality and Life Expectancy: A City-Wide Prospective Cohort Study of Cancer Survivors.” BMC Medicine, vol. 19, no. 1, July 2021, p. 158. BioMed Central, doi:http://10.1186/s12916-021-02024-2\
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About the Author: Husna is an undergraduate student of BTech Biotechnology at Amity University Kolkata. She is a research enthusiast in Immunology and Immunotherapy but she has a keen interest in various other Bioscience subjects as well. She is constantly focused on improving her knowledge and laboratory skills through various internships. She is a Scientific content writer who has knowledge in diverse backgrounds of Biotechnology.
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