Association between adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations and multimorbidity among a cohort of British Columbians
Md Sabbir Hossain, Hugh W. Davies, Rachel A. Murphy, Trevor J. B. DummerObjectives
This study examined the association between adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations and multimorbidity prevalence in adults aged 34-73 years in a population-based cohort of British Columbians, Canada.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected between 2009 and 2016 from a population-based cohort (n=27,268). Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions from 17 self-reported diseases. Adherence to four cancer primary prevention recommendations was assessed: maintaining a healthy body weight, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and limiting alcohol consumption. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between adherence to cancer prevention recommendations and multimorbidity.
Results
Prevalence of multimorbidity in the cohort was 36% and adherence to cancer prevention recommendations was generally high: maintaining a healthy body weight (69%), being physically active (51%), eating a healthy diet (86%), limiting alcohol consumption (73%). Greater adherence to a composite cancer prevention score was associated with significantly lower odds of multimorbidity (adjusted OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.90). Adherence to the healthy body weight recommendation reduced the odds of multimorbidity by 54% (adjusted OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.43-0.50).
Conclusions
Adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations was significantly associated with reduced multimorbidity prevalence in a cohort of Canadian adults.