Healthy Lifestyle Pattern is Protective Against 30-Yr Cancer Incidence in Men and Women: A Cohort Study

Objectives: Investigate associations of healthier behaviors with 30-yr cancer incidence.Subjects/Methods: In 1982, 632 healthy men and women (ages 40-70) were interviewed for nutritional habits using a Food Frequency Questionnaire and a 24-h physical activity questionnaire. Blood pressure, weight, and height were measured, and blood was drawn for biochemical profiles. Thirteen and four subjects were excluded due to cancer diagnosis 1yr from recruitment and extreme values of reported total daily calorie intake, respectively.Results: During a mean follow-up of 24.2yr, 146 cancer incident patients (23.7%) were documented. Total cancer risk was 38% lower in the medium vegetable intake tertile [adjusted hazards ratio (HR) = 0.62, 95%confidence interval (CI): 0.40-0.95], and 66% higher in the medium fruit intake tertile (adjusted HR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.08-2.55) compared to the lowest tertile. The risk of gastrointestinal cancers was 3times greater for the highest, compared to the lowest, dairy consumption tertile (HR = 3.06, 95%CI: 1.01-9.23). Healthy lifestyle (normal BMI, never smoked, consuming high levels of dietary fiber and vegetables, and more physically active) reduced overall cancer risk (adjusted HR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.44-0.91) as compared to the rest of the cohort.Conclusions: Our findings reinforce the importance of lifestyle-related factors, which are relatively low-cost and may contribute to reduction in the burden of malignant diseases.