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Healthy lifestyle associated with lower lifetime risk for HF in men
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Men who adhered to a healthy lifestyle — regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption and no smoking, for example — had a lower lifetime risk for heart failure in the Physician’s Health Study I.
“In this cohort of apparently healthy male physicians, we observed that the remaining lifetime risk of HF was approximately one in seven at age 40, 50, 60 and 70 years,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers set out to examine the association between six modifiable lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol intake, body weight, exercise, consumption of breakfast cereals and fruits and vegetables) and the lifetime risk for HF. The study included 20,900 men (mean age, 54).
During more than 22 years of follow-up, researchers observed 1,200 (5.7%) new cases of HF and 4,999 (23.9%) confirmed deaths.
The overall lifetime risk for HF was 13.8% at age 40 and remained constant through age 70. However, the lifetime risk decreased to 10.6% at age 80.
A lower lifetime risk for HF was individually and jointly associated with healthy lifestyle habits. Men with the lowest risk adhered to four or more healthy lifestyle factors (10.1%), whereas men with the highest risk adhered to none of the healthy lifestyle factors (21.2%). In addition, men with hypertension had a higher lifetime risk for HF when compared with men without hypertension.
Future studies should examine the influence of modifiable lifestyle factors on lifetime risk for HF in other populations, the researchers concluded.
Djousse L. JAMA. 2009; 302:394-400.