Risk factors of head and neck cancer mortality compared with those of all-cause and all-cancer mortalities

This study aimed to clarify the risk factors of head and neck cancer (HNC) mortality, relative to those of all-cause and all-cancer mortalities, using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) data set. Data from 238 HNC deaths, 14,769 all-cancer deaths, and 38,086 all-cause deaths were extracted during a median follow-up period of 9.5 years. Baseline characteristics were assessed via chi-square tests, t tests, and multivariable logistic regression. HNC mortality was found to be positively associated with male sex, past and current smoking habits, moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption, and being underweight. In addition, serum gamma-glutamyltransferase level was found to be significantly elevated in cases of HNC mortality. In contrast, obesity, a history of diabetes, and fasting blood glucose levels were found to be inversely associated with overall HNC mortality. Among the HNC subtypes, mortality due to laryngeal cancer was most strongly associated with past and heavy cigarette smoking, and mortality due to oro-/hypopharyngeal cancer was most strongly associated with heavy alcohol consumption. The present study demonstrates that this nationwide, population-based NHIS-HEALS data set can provide useful information for health research and policy development.