Proportion of cancers attributable to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Abstract

Cancer is a major contributing cause of morbidity and mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The aim of the current study was to estimate the cancer burden attributable to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors. We used age‐, sex‐ and site‐specific incidence estimates for 2012 from IARC's GLOBOCAN, and assessed the following risk factors: smoking, alcohol, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, diet, suboptimal breastfeeding, infections and air pollution. The prevalence of exposure to these risk factors came from different sources including peer‐reviewed international literature, the World Health Organization, noncommunicable disease Risk Factor Collaboration, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Sex‐specific population‐attributable fraction was estimated in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region based on the prevalence of the selected risk factors and the relative risks obtained from meta‐analyses. We estimated that approximately 33% (or 165,000 cases) of all new cancer cases in adults aged 30 years and older in 2012 were attributable to all selected risk factors combined. Infections and smoking accounted for more than half of the total attributable cases among men, while insufficient physical activity and exposure to infections accounted for more than two‐thirds of the total attributable cases among women. A reduction in exposure to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors could prevent a substantial number of cancer cases in the Eastern Mediterranean. Population‐based programs preventing infections and smoking (particularly among men) and promoting physical activity (particularly among women) in the population are needed to effectively decrease the regional cancer burden.

Spatio-temporal mapping of breast and prostate cancers in South Iran from 2014-2017

“…Further investigations are needed to assess the drivers in the high-risk areas identi ed in north-western Kerman. They might be associated with environmental factors and lifestyles (12), poor access to cancer-speci c services (29), hereditary reasons (10) and/or socio-economic inequalities (30,31).…”

“…Furthermore, these neoplasms cause high numbers of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (9). Risk factors for these two diseases are diverse and interrelated, as they include genetic (10), social-economic (11) as well as lifestyle and environmental factors (12). Further, there are interactions between these risk factors, particularly with those involving the environment (13,14), whose spatial variation may lead to heterogeneity in the pattern of cancers in a given geographic catchment area.…”

Cancer Awareness Among Lebanese Adults, A Cross Sectional Study 

“…Cigarettes are responsible for 24.4% of cancers in men and 5.2% in women. [3] Cigarettes and waterpipe were identi ed as harmful by over 95% of respondents and were given the highest carcinogenic perception scores. [8] Although water pipe smoking has similar health effects as cigarette smoking, its harmful effect is still neglected in anti-smoking campaigns.…”

“…[2] However, this trend can be slowed down: it has been estimated that around 33% of all cancers in adults in the Eastern Mediterranean Region region are attributable to eight avoidable lifestyle factors such as tobacco, alcohol, low physical activity, and high Body Mass Index (BMI). [3][4][5] Strategies to change existing behaviour are therefore essential to lower cancer burden.…”

State and Environment Purifying Functions of Forest Stands Under Conditions of Polymetallic Pollution in the Industrial Center of Sterlitamak

“…It is noted that the air environment quality has a direct impact on the mortality rate due to respiratory diseases, and the incidence of childhood asthma is attributed to indicators of environmental quality by WHO [7]. The -environmenthuman health‖ issue is considered one of the most urgent in connection with the increase in cancer incidence rates among residents of ecologically unfavorable regions, since some industrial toxicants have carcinogenic properties [8][9][10]. To date, mortality caused by malignant neoplasms has been stably associated with atmospheric air pollution by carcinogens in 11 subjects of the Russian Federation [7].…”