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Cardiovascular Health Metrics Differ Between Individuals With and Without Cancer
Ofer Kobo1,2, Dmitry Abramov3, Manuela Fiuza4
1Department of Cardiology Hillel Yaffe Medical Center Hadera Israel.
Insights
Individuals with cancer have lower cardiovascular health (CVH) scores but better key behaviors like physical activity and diet. These findings highlight disparities and inform strategies for improving CVH in cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Oncology
- Public Health
Background:
- Cancer survivors face high rates of cardiovascular disease.
- Limited data exist on cardiovascular health (CVH) differences between cancer patients and the general population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare CVH metrics between US adults with and without a cancer history.
- To analyze CVH score variations based on demographics like age, sex, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2020).
- Assessed the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 construct for CVH.
- Analyzed health metric prevalence and scores in 4370 adult participants, including 9.4% with a cancer history.
Main Results:
- Individuals with cancer had significantly lower overall CVH scores (67.1 vs. 69.1, P<0.001).
- Cancer patients demonstrated better scores in physical activity, diet, and sleep behaviors.
- These behavioral improvements were more pronounced in older, White, and higher socioeconomic status individuals.
Conclusions:
- Significant variations exist in CVH metrics between cancer patients and non-cancer individuals.
- Demographic factors (age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status) influence these CVH differences.
- Findings provide a framework for optimizing cardiovascular care in the cancer population and addressing health disparities.
Background:
Although individuals with cancer experience high rates of cardiovascular morbidity, there are limited data on the potential differences in cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics between individuals with and without cancer.
Methods And Results:
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2015 and 2020 was queried to evaluate the prevalence of health metrics that comprise the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 construct of cardiovascular health among adult individuals with and without cancer in the United States. Health metric scores were also evaluated according to important patient demographics including age, sex, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Among 4370 participants representing >180 million US adults, 9.4% had a history of cancer. Individuals with cancer had lower overall cardiovascular health scores (67.1 versus 69.1, P<0.001) compared with individuals without cancer. Among individual components of the cardiovascular health score, those with cancer had better health scores on key behaviors including physical activity, diet, and sleep compared with those without cancer, although variation was noted based on age. Higher scores on these modifiable health behaviors among those with cancer compared with those without cancer were noted in older individuals, in White individuals compared with other races and ethnicities, and in individuals with higher socioeconomic status.
Conclusions:
We highlight important variations in simple cardiovascular health metrics among individuals with cancer compared with individuals without cancer and demonstrate differences among health metrics based on age, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. These findings may explain ongoing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status disparities in the cancer population and provide a framework for optimizing cardiovascular health among individuals with cancer.
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