CohortHumann = 61,480 men2017
Combined Impact of Known Lifestyle Factors on Total and Cause-Specific Mortality among Chinese Men: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Plain-language summary
This study set out to see how combined lifestyle factors affect the risk of death from any cause, heart disease, and cancer in Chinese men. It followed over 61,000 men aged 40 to 74 for about nine years, tracking their smoking, heavy drinking, poor diet, and lack of exercise. The study found that men with all four unhealthy habits had nearly three times the risk of dying compared to those with none. The impact was similar for deaths from heart disease and cancer, with these lifestyle factors accounting for about 40% of the risk.
Key findings
- Men with all four unhealthy lifestyle factors (smoking, heavy alcohol use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity) had nearly three times the risk of dying from any cause compared to those with none.
- The risk was similarly high for deaths from heart disease and cancer.
- These lifestyle factors accounted for about 40% of the risk of death from any cause, heart disease, and cancer.
How to analyze the study yourself
- Study type
- Cohort studies follow groups over time to see how different exposures affect outcomes, but they cannot prove cause and effect because people are not randomly assigned to groups.
- Population
- Chinese men aged 40 to 74
- Funding
- Not reported
- Takeaway
- This study of more than 61,000 Chinese men found that smoking, heavy drinking, a poor diet and too little exercise, taken together, came with nearly three times the risk of dying over about nine years, and the same pattern held for heart disease and cancer deaths. The exact size of that risk belongs to this cohort and will not transfer to every population, but the direction is not in question. If more than one of those four describes you, dropping any single one is worth doing.