Cancer incidence attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in Alberta in 2012: summary of results.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Population attributable risk modeling using secondary epidemiological datasets, evaluated by design analogy.
PubMed 28687643 · doi:10.9778/cmajo.20160045
What was done
Researchers estimated the proportion of cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 attributable to 24 modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors, including active and passive smoking, overweight and obesity, inadequate physical activity, dietary factors, alcohol consumption, exogenous hormones, infections, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, radon, and water disinfection by-products. Summary population attributable risks were calculated by combining previously estimated individual risk estimates using a sequential multiplicative model to adjust for multicausality.
What was found
An estimated 40.8% of cancer cases in Alberta in 2012 were attributable to modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors. The summary population attributable risk was 42.4% among women and 38.7% among men. Tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, and excess body weight accounted for the largest proportions of attributable cancer cases.
Why it matters
This analysis quantifies the preventable cancer burden in Alberta, indicating that over four in ten cancer diagnoses could potentially be avoided by reducing known lifestyle and environmental exposures.
Limits
The abstract does not report the total sample size or number of cancer cases analyzed. The findings depend on mathematical modeling assumptions and historical exposure estimates rather than direct longitudinal cohort tracking, and confidence intervals are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Cardiovascular disease is 80% to 90% preventable through lifestyle, while cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are 40% to 50% preventable through lifestyle.