Accumulated bad habits, such as smoking, increase the risk of cancer by up to 72%
Feb 26, 2025
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According to Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital on the 25th, Professor Kang Seo-young of the Department of Family Medicine at Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital (co-corresponding author) and Choi Hee-joon of Eulji University Medical School (co-author, 2 years old) conducted a retrospective study that followed the lifestyle habits of 64,756 Korean men aged 65 or older for 8 years.
The research team classified men over the age of 65 from 2008 to 2009 using data from the National Health Insurance Corporation's elderly cohort.
Then, the number of cases of smoking, drinking, and lack of physical activity in the national examination conducted every two years was one point, and the degree of unhealthy lifestyle evaluated in a total of four examinations over eight years was scored from 0 to 12.
As a result of correcting and analyzing various factors such as underlying diseases of the subjects, the risk of cancer increased by 10% in the 3-5 point group, 54% in the 6-8 point group, and 72% in the 9-12 point group, compared to the 0-2 point comparison group, which showed the healthiest lifestyle during the follow-up period. In particular, the risk of cancer also significantly increased as the cumulative burden of lifestyle increased during the examination. During this period, 13,130 men had cancer out of a total of 64,756 subjects.
According to the research team's analysis of the characteristics of the study participants, obesity with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher accounted for 30.5%, and 25.7% of them currently smoke and drink. In terms of physical activity, 74.2% said they did not do regular activities.
Student Choi Hee-jun explained that there have been studies showing that certain lifestyle habits such as drinking and smoking are related to cancer, but this study is meaningful in that there are few studies on the long-term and complex effects of various factors on cancer.
Professor Kang Seo-young said, `When looking at the aging rate in Korea, the incidence of cancer in the elderly is expected to be higher and higherHe emphasized that the results of the study could alert elderly Korean men to having healthy lifestyles.
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in the latest issue of the SCIE-level international academic journal Cancer (IF=4.5) in the field of oncology.
