Dr. Christina Shay
Meanwhile, investigators at the American Cancer Society recently showed that a high level of adherence to cancer prevention recommendations regarding obesity, diet, physical activity, and alcohol consumption was associated with a 48% reduction in cardiovascular mortality in men and a 58% reduction in women. A high degree of adherence was also associated with a 30% reduction in cancer mortality in men and a 24% decrease in women (Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2011;20:1089-97).
The study involved 14 years of follow-up of 111,966 nonsmoking participants in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort.
Dr. Shay noted that because the relationship with alcohol intake appears to be different for cancer and cardiovascular disease, what to recommend regarding alcohol consumption will be an important topic of discussion in drawing up any new joint AHA/ACS health promotion message.
Comments for this article by Dr. Shay and Dr. Lloyd-Jones were made at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association in Atlanta. Dr. Shay and Dr. Lloyd-Jones declared having no financial conflicts.