Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · May 2019
Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to low fruit and vegetable consumption in Canada.
Low fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with colorectal cancer and may be associated with lung, breast, bladder, pancreatic, ovarian, liver, stomach, esophageal, head and neck cancers. We estimated the current attributable and future avoidable burden of cancer associated with low fruit and vegetable consumption in Canada. Using data on cancer incidence, exposure prevalence and risk effects, we estimated the population attributable risk (PAR) for cancers associated with low fruit and vegetable consumption as well as the future avoidable burden. ⋯ For all incident cancers in 2015, 0.7% and 0.3% were attributable to low fruit and vegetable consumption, respectively. An increase of one serving/week of fruit could prevent 20,710 colorectal cancer cases cumulatively by 2042, and the same increase in vegetable consumption could prevent 10,185 cases. Although more research on the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and cancer risk is needed, our results demonstrate that with reasonable increases in current fruit and vegetable consumption by Canadians, over 30,000 colorectal cancer cases could be prevented by 2042.
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Preventive medicine · May 2019
Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to alcohol consumption in Canada.
Alcohol consumption is associated with elevated risk of oropharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal, colon, rectal, breast, liver, pancreatic and stomach cancers. The purpose of this analysis was to provide national and provincial estimates of the number and proportion of cancers attributable to alcohol consumption in Canada and to project the numbers of potentially avoidable cancers using possible intervention scenarios. We estimated the population attributable risk (PAR) for cancers associated with alcohol consumption levels (drinks/day) using: i) relative risks obtained from the World Cancer Research Fund/(WCRF) reports or meta-analyses, ii) alcohol consumption (prevalence) data from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, and iii) cancer incidence data from the 2015 Canadian Cancer Registry. ⋯ At the current consumption levels, alcohol-attributable cancers are expected to increase to 10,122 (8.8% of cases among alcohol-associated cancers) by 2042. Under the best case scenario, reducing alcohol consumption to 50% of 2003 levels by 2032, could prevent 70,261 cases by 2042. Strategies that effectively reduce alcohol consumption at a population level can have a meaningful impact on reducing the cancer burden in Canada.
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Preventive medicine · May 2019
The current burden of cancer attributable to occupational exposures in Canada.
Exposure to occupational carcinogens is often overlooked as a contributor to the burden of cancer. To estimate the proportion of cancer cases attributable to occupational exposure in Canada in 2011, exposure prevalence and levels of 44 carcinogens were informed by data from the Canadian carcinogen exposure surveillance project (CAREX Canada). These were used with Canadian Census (between 1961 and 2011) and Labour Force Survey (annual surveys between 1976 and 2013) data to estimate the number of workers ever exposed to occupational carcinogens. ⋯ Overall, we estimated that in 2011, between 3.9% (95% CI: 3.1%-8.1%) and 4.2% (95% CI: 3.3%-8.7%) of all incident cases of cancer were due to occupational exposure, corresponding to lower and upper numbers of 7700-21,800 cases. Five of the cancer sites - mesothelioma, non-melanoma skin cancer, lung, female breast, and urinary bladder - account for a total of 7600 to 21,200 cancers attributable to occupational exposures such as solar radiation, asbestos, diesel engine exhaust, crystalline silica, and night shift work. Our study highlights cancer sites and occupational exposures that need recognition and efforts by all stakeholders to avoid preventable cancers in the future.
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Preventive medicine · May 2019
Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to lack of physical activity in Canada.
Physical activity reduces the risk of many cancers, yet the prevalence of inadequate physical activity among Canadians remains high. Here we estimated the current attributable and future avoidable burden of cancer related to inadequate physical activity among Canadian adults. Population attributable risk (PAR) for all cancers associated with inadequate physical activity were estimated using relative risks obtained from comprehensive reports, meta-analyses and pooled analyses. ⋯ A 50% reduction in inadequate physical activity could avoid 39,877 cumulative cases of cancer by 2042. Over 9000 cancer cases in 2015 were estimated to be attributable to inadequate physical activity and 5170 incident cases of cancer could be prevented with increases in physical activity levels by 2042. Policies aimed at increasing physical activity among Canadian could have a meaningful impact for cancer prevention.
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Preventive medicine · May 2019
Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to red and processed meat consumption in Canada.
Red meat and processed meat have been consistently associated with an increased risk of colorectal, stomach, pancreatic cancer and esophageal cancer (processed meat only). The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the current attributable and future avoidable burden of cancer related to red and processed meat consumption in Canada. We estimated the population attributable risk of cancer separately for red meat consumption (beef, lamb, and pork, excluding processed meat) and processed meat consumption (sausage and bacon) incorporating current cancer incidence data, relative risks, and exposure prevalence. ⋯ A mean decrease of 0.5 servings/week of red meat or processed meat could prevent about 8700 or 16,600 cancer cases, respectively, between 2015 and 2042. In conclusion, a small but meaningful cancer burden is associated with red and processed meat consumption. Interventions aimed at reducing consumption at the population level have the potential in the prevention of many cancers in Canada.