Background: Cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are leading causes of morbidity and mortality. We analyzed national data to examine the prevalence of CVD risk factors among adult cancer survivors in the United States. Methods: Participants included adults ≥18 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002 to 2013-2014. CVD risk factors included hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking, and physical activity. Prevalence of 1, 2, or ≥3 CVD risk factors was compared between cancer and noncancer participants. All CVD risk factors were adjusted for age and smoking and additionally for sex. Differences in CVD risk factors among cancer and noncancer participants were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: Among 35,379 eligible participants, 2906 (8.4%) had a history of cancer. The proportion of participants having a single CVD risk factor was lower among cancer survivors compared with noncancer participants (25.8% vs. 33.9%, P < 0.001). The proportions of participants having two CVD risk factors (33.5% vs. 24.6%, P < 0.001) and ≥3 CVD risk factors (27.4% vs. 16.4%, P < 0.001) were higher among cancer survivors. However, these associations lost significance upon adjusting for age. The odds of total hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-1.40) and total diabetes (OR 1.33, 95% CI: 1.08-1.65) were significantly higher among cancer survivors. Conclusions: Our study showed that adult cancer survivors in the United States had higher levels of CVD risk factors primarily due to age-related factors, in addition to cancer complications. There is a significant need for improved CVD risk assessment and prevention services for cancer survivors.
Keywords: NHANES; cancer; cardiovascular diseases risk factors; epidemiology; prevalence.