Examining the interplay between cardiovascular disease and cancer incidence: Data from NHANES III and continuous

Omar M Makram; Harikrishnan Hyma Kunhiraman; Ryan A Harris; Catherine C Hedrick; Khurram Nasir; Neal L Weintraub; Xiaoling Wang; Avirup Guha

doi:10.1016/j.ahjo.2024.100380

Examining the interplay between cardiovascular disease and cancer incidence: Data from NHANES III and continuous

Am Heart J Plus. 2024 Mar 11:40:100380. doi: 10.1016/j.ahjo.2024.100380. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Authors

Omar M Makram^{1

2}, Harikrishnan Hyma Kunhiraman^{2

3}, Ryan A Harris⁴, Catherine C Hedrick⁵, Khurram Nasir^{6

7}, Neal L Weintraub^{2

3}, Xiaoling Wang⁴, Avirup Guha^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
² Cardio-Oncology Program, Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
³ Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
⁴ Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
⁵ Immunology Center of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
⁶ Division of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, Houston, TX, USA.
⁷ Center for Cardiovascular Computational Health and Precision Medicine (C3-PH), Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between risk factors of cancer among individuals with existing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: The analysis included 438 and 2100 CVD patients aged 65+ from NHANES-III and Continuous datasets, respectively. Competing risk models with subdistribution hazards ratio (aHR) were used to identify risk factors.

Results: Females in NHANES-III had lower cancer risk (aHR 0.39, P = 0.001) compared to males. Poor physical activity was associated with increased cancer risk in both datasets (aHR 2.59 in NHANES-III, aHR 1.59 in Continuous). In NHANES-Continuous, age (aHR 1.07, P < 0.001) and current smoking (aHR 2.55, P = 0.001) also showed a significant association with developing cancer. No other factors investigated showed significant associations.

Discussion: This study highlights the interplay between traditional risk factors and the elevated risk of cancer in CVD patients. Further research with larger samples and wider age ranges is needed to solidify these findings and inform intervention strategies.

Keywords: CVD; Cancer; Cardio-oncology; NHANES.