The main study shows

The main study shows

A decade-long study of over 48,000 workers shows that adhering to optimal lifestyle habits dramatically reduces the risk of several major cancers - particularly for those with chronic inflammation.

The Lifes Wesent’s Wesenting 8 (LE8) is a comprehensive lifestyle assessment tool developed by the American Heart Association to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving lifestyle habits.

A team of researchers from China recently assessed the impact of LE8 score trajectories over time on cancer risk in people working at a Chinese coal mining company. They found promising results in participants with stable elevated LE8 levels. The study is published in the journalScientific reports.

background

Participants with higher LE8 values ​​were less likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure or fatty liver disease at the start of the study.

The “Essential 8” (LIFE OF THE NEXT 8” (LE8) includes eight important lifestyle factors: diet quality, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body weight, blood sugar, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Assessing and optimizing these factors on LE8 has been found to significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Because lifestyle habits and risk factors fluctuate over time due to life transitions, health conditions, or aging, a dynamic assessment of lifestyle factors over a long period of time is considered a more accurate alternative to individual assessments that only collect data at a specific point in time.

LE8 Trajectory Modeling - a statistical method using latent mixed models to identify patterns of change over time - is a dynamic tool that monitors an individual's lifestyle and health metrics over time to overcome the limitations of clinical decision making or developing lifestyle recommendations based on static data.

A growing body of evidence shows that each LE8 component can profoundly influence the risk factors associated with cancer development and progression. Given these associations, researchers hypothesized that long-term adherence to LE8 guidelines may be more beneficial for cancer prevention than shorter adherence periods or suboptimal adherence.

With this hypothesis, they designed this study to examine the direct relationship between Le8 score trajectories over time and the risk of incident cancer in a large, prospective cohort study.

Study design

The strongest cancer prescriptions were seen in people with high LE8 levels and elevated levels of inflammation, suggesting that lifestyle choices can offset biological risks.

The study included 48,330 Kailuan Study participants who underwent three health assessments between 2006 and 2010 to determine their LE8 scores. The Kailuan Study is a prospective cohort study in Tangshan, China. As of June 2006, the study covers 101,510 active employees and retirees of Kailuan Group Co., Ltd., which produces coal and chemical industrial products.

Participants' LE8 scores were calculated using the algorithm proposed by the American Heart Association for all eight LE8 metrics. Based on their composite scores, participants were divided into three levels: high, moderate, and low.
Cancer cases were identified using multiple methods, including biennial self-reports, medical reports, and hospital summaries. However, lifestyle data were primarily self-reported, which may introduce recall bias.

Study results

The study identified three different LE8 score trajectories between 2006 and 2010, including low stable, moderate and elevated stable. The low stable trajectory included 21% of participants with persistently low LE8 scores; The moderate stable trajectory included 49% of participants with sustained moderate LE8 scores; and increased stability included 29% of participants with persistently high LE8 scores.

The study identified 2,306 new cancer cases during a follow-up period of 10.39 years (mean). The analysis, which controlled for potential confounding factors such as age, gender and lifestyle, found that participants with higher LE8 levels had significantly lower overall cancer risks.

Although LE8 includes diet, the study lacked detailed dietary data, so researchers used salt and tea consumption as rough indicators of dietary habits.

Specifically, participants from the moderate and high stable trajectory showed a 15% and 21% lower risk of overall cancer, respectively, compared to those from the low stable trajectory.

Regarding specific cancer types, the study found that participants with persistently moderate LE8 levels had 49% and 34% reduced risk of developing breast and liver cancer, respectively, compared to those with persistently low LE8 levels.

Similarly, participants with persistently high LE8 scores showed 27%, 51%, 31% and 39% reduced risks of lung, breast, colon and liver cancers. However, in sensitivity analyses, the reduced risk of liver cancer in the increased stable group was no longer statistically significant after participants were diagnosed with medications (e.g. antihypertensives) or those in the first year.

Notably, the study found that the reduced risk of breast cancer due to persistently elevated LE8 levels was more pronounced in participants with elevated serum C-reactive protein levels (a systemic inflammatory marker). This finding shows that inflammation can potentially influence the association between Le8 score trajectories and cancer risk.

Investigate significance

Exposure to air pollution – a known risk factor in industrial environments such as coal mining – was analyzed as a potential confounder but did not weaken the link between LE8 and reduced lung cancer risk.

The study finds that maintaining persistently elevated LE8 levels over four years can significantly reduce the overall cancer risk as well as the specific risks against lung, breast, colon and liver cancers.

Similarly, maintaining sustained moderate LE8 levels over the same period was found to significantly reduce overall cancer risk as well as specific breast and liver cancer risks.

Moderate to high LE8 values ​​indicate a healthy lifestyle characterized by nutritious eating habits, regular physical activity, and adequate, high-quality sleep. All of these factors are critical for maintaining healthy body weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and overall metabolic homeostasis. Such metabolic improvements could account for the inverse association between LE8 levels and cancer risk.

Smoking cessation is another critical component of LE8 that may potentially reduce the risk of exposure to carcinogens and therefore reduce the risk of cancer development.

However, the study has limitations: the cohort was geographically limited to a single industrial community in China, which may affect generalizability. Dietary data were not comprehensively assessed (e.g., specific nutrient intakes); Lifestyle metrics relied on self-reports, which are subject to recall bias. and critical cancer-specific factors (e.g., reproductive history in breast cancer) were not analyzed. Furthermore, Le8 trajectories remained relatively stable over time, perhaps reflecting the health-conscious nature of the cohort.

Overall, the study results highlight the importance of integrating LE8 into public health and clinical strategies for cancer prevention.

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