Exercise and cancer mortality in Korean men and women: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundLittle is known about longitudinal associations of exercise with different types of cancer, particularly in Asian populations. The purpose of this research was to estimate the association between the duration of exercise and all-cause and cancer-specific mortality.MethodData were obtained from the Korean Metabolic Syndrome Mortality Study (KMSMS), a prospective cohort study of 303,428 Korean adults aged 20 years or older at baseline between 1994 and 2004 after exclusion of individuals with missing variables on smoking and exercise. Death certificate-linked data until 31 December 2015 were provided by the Korean National Statistical Office. Cox regression models were constructed to evaluate the associations of exercise with cancer mortality after adjusting for potential confounders such as age, alcohol consumption and smoking status.ResultsDuring the follow-up period of 15.3 years (4,638,863 person-years), a total of 16,884 participants died. Both men and women who exercised showed approximately 30% decreased hazards of mortality, compared to those who did no exercise (hazard ratio (HR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.68-0.73 for men, HR=0.71, CI : 0.67-0.75). A notable observation of this study is the curvilinear associations between the total duration of exercise per week and cancer mortality, with the lowest risk being observed at the low-to-medium levels of exercise; this trend of associations was found for esophagus, liver, lung, and colorectal cancer mortality in men, and all-cause, all-cancer and lung cancer mortality in women.ConclusionsIndividuals who exercised showed considerably lower all-cause and cancer mortality risks compared with those who did no exercise. Policies and clinical trials aimed at promoting minimal or moderate participation in exercise may minimize cancer mortality risk.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5669-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Mortality and cause of death in physical activity and insufficient physical activity participants: a longitudinal follow-up study using a national health screening cohort

“…In our study, all-cause mortality including mortality due to circulatory disease (cardiovascular disease) and neoplasm (cancer), was lower in PA group compared with the insufficient PA group. Previous studies reported similar results to our study findings [ 3 – 5 ]. Although the mechanisms between PA and mortality are not fully understood, various benefits of PA that are important predictors of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease and cancer have been suggested as a link between PA and decreasing mortality.…”

“…Likewise, several studies from Korea confirmed that PA could decrease all-cause and certain causes of death. In the Korean Metabolic Syndrome Mortality Study cohort data, exercise could decrease mortality by approximately 17–33% in various cancers, including esophageal, liver, lung, colorectal, and stomach cancers [ 5 ]. The all-cause mortality was evaluated according to PAs by adjusting for age, sex, and health-related behavior factors, including smoking, alcohol intake, and nutritional risk, using Korean older adult data [ 6 ].…”

Association Between Physical Activity and Lower Risk of Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

“…After review of the titles and abstracts, 465 records were excluded because of little relevance to the study topic. After reviewing the full text of the remaining 25 cohort studies, four studies (27–30) were excluded as same study population were reported in the newer study; two studies (31, 32) were excluded as no RRs or 95% CIs were reported; One (33) was excluded because of reporting the lung cancer death as the outcome of interest. Two additional studies (5, 34) were identified by checking the reference lists of relevant articles.…”

Energy Constraint as a Novel Mechanism Linking Exercise and Health

“…Given their anabolic and proliferative effects, the downregulation of reproductive hormone levels may contribute to the well-documented reduction in cancer risk with chronic exercise (14,36). Jasień ska and colleagues (35) showed that women in less economically developed populations have lower luteal progesterone levels and a correspondingly reduced risk of breast cancer.…”

“…Exercise is essential for a healthy lifestyle. In clinical and observational studies, greater physical activity has been shown to decrease all-cause mortality (4,9,36,42,73) as well as the risk of cardiovascular disease (74), Type 2 diabetes (5), many cancers (14,36), mental illness (76), and cognitive decline (66). Conversely, greater time spent inactive and sedentary is associated with increased cardiometabolic disease and shortened lifespan (11,12,37,43).…”