Physical activity and lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer

Purpose Although the World Health Organization has recommended moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and some cancers, there are no estimates of lifetime risk of these noncommunicable diseases according to PA levels. We aimed to estimate the lifetime risk of CVD and cancers according to PA levels. Methods We followed 5807 men and 7252 women in the United States, 45-64 yr old, initially free of CVD and cancer from 1987 through 2012, and used a life table approach to estimate lifetime risks of CVD (coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke) and total cancer according to PA levels: poor (0 min·wk -1 of MVPA), intermediate (1-74 min·wk -1 of VPA or 1-149 min·wk -1 of MVPA), or recommended (≥75 min·wk -1 of VPA or ≥150 min·wk -1 of MVPA). Results During the 246,886 person-years of follow-up, we documented 4065 CVD and 3509 cancer events and 2062 non-CVD and 2326 noncancer deaths. In men, the lifetime risks of CVD from 45 through 85 yr were 52.7% (95% confidence interval = 49.4-55.5) for poor PA and 45.7% (42.7-48.3) for recommended PA. In women, the respective lifetime risks of CVD were 42.4% (39.5-44.9) and 30.5% (27.5-33.1). Lifetime risks of total cancer were 40.1% (36.9-42.7) for poor PA and 42.6% (39.7-45.2) for recommended activity in men and 31.4% (28.7-33.8) and 30.4% (27.7-32.9), respectively, in women. Conclusions Compared with a poor PA level, the PA recommended by the World Health Organization was associated with lower lifetime risk of CVD, but not total cancer, in both men and women

Dietary choline and betaine intakes and risk of total and lethal prostate cancer in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Purpose: Two prior cohort studies suggested that choline, but not betaine intake, is associated with an increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (PCa). Given that evidence remains limited, we evaluated whether intakes of choline and derivative betaine are associated with total and lethal PCa risk and PCa death in men with PCa. Methods: We included 6,528 men (24.4% African American) without a cancer diagnosis at baseline (1987–1989) followed through 2012. Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire coupled with a nutrient database. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of total and lethal PCa risk overall and by race. Results: Choline intake was not associated with total (n = 811) or lethal (n = 95) PCa risk overall or by race. Betaine intake was inversely associated with lethal (tertile 3 vs 1, HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.35–1.00, p trend = 0.04), but not total PCa risk; patterns for lethal PCa were similar by race. Neither nutrient was associated with PCa death in men with PCa. Conclusions: Choline intake was not associated with total or lethal PCa or with PCa death in men with PCa. Betaine intake was inversely associated with lethal, but not total PCa risk or with PCa death in men with PCa. Our results do not support the hypothesis that higher choline intake increases lethal PCa risk, but do suggest that higher betaine intake may be associated with lower lethal PCa risk. Further investigation with a larger number of lethal cases is needed

Associations of leisure-time physical activity and television viewing with life expectancy cancer-free at age 50: The ARIC study

Background: Physical activity has been associated with longer chronic disease-free life expectancy, but specific cancer types have not been investigated. We examined whether leisure-time moderate- to-vigorous physical activity (LTPA) and television (TV) viewing were associated with life expectancy cancer-free. Methods: We included 14,508 participants without a cancer history from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. We used multistate survival models to separately examine associations of LTPA (no LTPA, <median, ≥median) and TV viewing (seldom/never, sometimes, often/very often) with life expectancy cancer-free at age 50 from invasive colorectal, lung, prostate, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Models were adjusted for age, gender, race, ARIC center, education, smoking, and alcohol intake. Results: Compared with no LTPA, participants who engaged in LTPA ≥median had a greater life expectancy cancer-free from colorectal [men-2.2 years (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7-2.7), women-2.3 years (95% CI, 1.7-2.8)], lung [men-2.1 years (95% CI, 1.5-2.6), women-2.1 years (95% CI, 1.6-2.7)], prostate [1.5 years (95% CI, 0.8-2.2)], and postmenopausal breast cancer [2.4 years (95% CI, 1.4-3.3)]. Compared with watching TV often/very often, participants who seldom/never watched TV had a greater colorectal, lung, and postmenopausal breast cancer-free life expectancy of ∼1 year. Conclusions: Participating in LTPA was associated with longer life expectancy cancer-free from colorectal, lung, prostate, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Viewing less TV was associated with more years lived cancer-free from colorectal, lung, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Impact: Increasing physical activity and reducing TV viewing may extend the number of years lived cancer-free

Discovery of common and rare genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer

To further dissect the genetic architecture of colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed whole-genome sequencing of 1,439 cases and 720 controls, imputed discovered sequence variants and Haplotype Reference Consortium panel variants into genome-wide association study data, and tested for association in 34,869 cases and 29,051 controls. Findings were followed up in an additional 23,262 cases and 38,296 controls. We discovered a strongly protective 0.3% frequency variant signal at CHD1. In a combined meta-analysis of 125,478 individuals, we identified 40 new independent signals at P &amp;lt; 5 × 10 −8 , bringing the number of known independent signals for CRC to ~100. New signals implicate lower-frequency variants, Krüppel-like factors, Hedgehog signaling, Hippo-YAP signaling, long noncoding RNAs and somatic drivers, and support a role for immune function. Heritability analyses suggest that CRC risk is highly polygenic, and larger, more comprehensive studies enabling rare variant analysis will improve understanding of biology underlying this risk and influence personalized screening strategies and drug development. © 2018, This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply