Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease according to Alcohol Behavioral Change after Cancer Diagnosis

Problem drinking increases the incidence of all-cause mortality and specific cancers, and persistent drinking is associated with cardiovascular disease in certain cancer survivors. This study analyzed the cardiovascular risk factors before and after diagnosis in Korean cancer survivors.

Data for the period between 2002 and 2013 were collected from the National Health Insurance Service Health-Examinee Cohort Database. Among the 27,835 patients included, those with moderate alcohol consumption before and after cancer diagnosis were excluded. Problem drinking was defined as males under 65 years consuming over 14 glasses a week, and males over 65 years or females consuming over seven glasses a week. A t-test, chi-square test, and linear regression analysis were performed for differences in cardiovascular risk factors and differences according to cancer types.

There was a difference in the body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol among patients who became moderate drinkers after diagnosis, but fasting blood glucose did not show any significant changes. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease were analyzed in patients with liver, stomach, rectal, and breast cancer with improved drinking behavior, and there were significant differences in body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and total cholesterol in stomach cancer patients.

Moderate drinking can lower cardiovascular risk in cancer survivors, and among the many drinking-related cancers, stomach cancer patients demonstrated significantly reduced cardiovascular risk factors.