Joint association of biological aging and lifestyle with risks of cancer incidence and mortality

Aging is a risk factor for cancer incidence and mortality. Biological aging can reflect the aging degree of the body better than chronological age and can be aggravated by unhealthy lifestyle factors. A team of researchers assessed the joint effect of biological aging and lifestyle with risks of cancer incidence and mortality.
Their study included a total of 281,889 participants aged 37 to 73 from the UK Biobank database. Biological age was derived from chronological age and 9 clinical blood indicators, and lifestyle score was constructed by body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet. The independent and joint association of biological aging and lifestyle with risks of cancer incidence and mortality, respectively were analysed.
Over a median follow-up period of 12.3 years, older biological age was associated with increased risks of overall cancer, digestive system cancers, lung, breast and renal cancers incidence and mortality (HRs: 1.12-2.25). In the joint analysis of biological aging and lifestyle with risks of cancer incidence and mortality, compared with unhealthy lifestyle and younger biological age, individuals with healthy lifestyle and older biological age had decreased risks of incidence (8% ~ 60%) and mortality (20% ~ 63%) for overall, esophageal, colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancers.
Biological aging may be an important risk factor for cancer morbidity and mortality. A healthier lifestyle is more likely to mitigate the adverse effects of biological aging on overall cancer and some site-specific cancers.
Source: Wang X, Peng Y, Liu F, Wang P, Si C, Gong J, Zhou H, Zhang M, Song F. Joint association of biological aging and lifestyle with risks of cancer incidence and mortality: A cohort study in the UK Biobank. Prev Med. 2024 May;182:107928.