Rurality, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Early Cardiovascular Disease Among Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant concern for cancer survivors due to cardiotoxic treatments.
• Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) are known to potentiate CVD risk later in life.
• The association between baseline CVRFs and early CVD in cancer survivors requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association of baseline cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the early survivorship period among young cancer patients.
• To assess the feasibility of using informatics methods to identify CVRFs in cancer survivors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 731 cancer survivors (ages 0-29 at diagnosis) diagnosed between 2010-2017.
• Extraction of CVRFs (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity) from electronic health records within 1 year of diagnosis.
• Statistical analysis to determine associations between CVRFs, insurance status, geographic location (rural vs. urban), and CVD incidence between 1-5 years post-diagnosis.

Main Results:

• 1.4% of survivors developed CVD between 1-5 years post-diagnosis.
• Public health insurance and late effects risk strata were positively associated with CVD.
• Survivors from rural areas had a 4.1 times greater risk of CVD compared to urban survivors, even after adjustment.

Conclusions:

• Informatics methods are feasible for identifying CVRFs in cancer survivors.
• Baseline CVRFs were not associated with CVD in the early survivorship period.
• Survivors residing in rural areas face a significantly higher risk of developing CVD.