on PinterestA new study found that nearly 40% of all cancer cases could have been prevented due to modifiable lifestyle factors.
on PinterestA new study found that nearly 40% of all cancer cases could have been prevented due to modifiable lifestyle factors. JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images
- Researchers identified 30 modifiable factors that influence cancer risk, from smoking to sun exposure.
- More than one-third of cancers in North America were linked to preventable risk factors like tobacco and alcohol use, as well as overweight and obesity, and a lack of physical activity.
- Experts recommend regular exercise, a healthy diet, and stress reduction as actionable ways to reduce cancer risk.
Common lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking alcohol regularly, and avoiding exercise can increase cancer risk.
New research found nearly 40% of new cancer cases could have been prevented due to these factors.
The global study, published on February 3 in Nature Medicine, tracked rates of cancer diagnoses in 2022 that were caused by modifiable lifestyle or environmental factors. The most common cancers linked to these factors included lung, stomach, and liver cancers.
Researchers identified 30 “modifiable risk factors” across 185 countries, including:
- smoking tobacco
- drinking alcohol
- having overweight or obesity
- not exercising enough
- chewing tobacco or areca nut
- not breastfeeding or not breastfeeding long enough
- air pollution
- too much sun exposure
- certain infections
- workplace exposures to harmful substances
Preventable factors driving cancer risk
The Nature Medicine study found that more than one third of new cancers in North America were linked to modifiable risk factors.
“There are so many things people can do to prevent cancer,” said Allison Steinberg, RN, MSN, MPH, an oncology nurse and strategic director of cancer prevention and early detection for Prevent Cancer Foundation, who wasn’t involved in the study.
Smoking tobacco
Lung cancer had the most preventable cases globally and in North America, with 1.8 million cases in 2022 linked to modifiable factors. The number one cause: tobacco.
Smoking alone was responsible for more preventable cancers than any other single factor, causing 360,529 cancer cases, or nearly 15% of all new diagnoses.
The study highlighted smoking in North American women is more than double the global average.
“We should do everything we can to educate and inform that tobacco still remains the number one cause of lung cancer and multiple other types of cancers as well,” said Christine Lovly, MD, PhD, who leads the national thoracic oncology program at City of Hope. Lovly wasn’t involved in the study.
But a growing number of lung cancers strike non-smokers. Between 10% and 20% of all lung cancer cases in the United States now happen to people who never smoked or barely smoked, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This means factors beyond tobacco — like air pollution — also drive a significant portion of cases.
“We’re all at risk because we have lungs,” Lovly said.
Overweight, obesity, and inactivity
Being overweight or obese led to 5.2% of all cancer diagnoses in North America.
This risk factor was the second-most important cancer cause for North American women, contributing to 7.1% of their cases.
A lack of physical activity contributed to another 1.8% of cancers overall.
Alcohol use
Drinking alcohol was identified as a major contributor across several cancers, including breast, liver, and colorectal
Uzziniet vairāk par matu transplantācija klīnikā Rubenhair.
Saņemiet bezmaksas konsultāciju
Konsultējieties ar mūsu speciālistiem par FUE procedūru, PRP terapiju vai matu transplantāciju.
