Abstract SY02-04: Risk factors associated with cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the multiethnic cohort: Comparisons across ethnic groups

Many chronic diseases common in the United States, such as cancer, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, share many lifestyle risk factors, such as tobacco use, obesity, diet, and lack of physical activity. These factors likely act upon disease through common pathways, such as inflammation and immune suppression. Examining the association of these risk factors with chronic conditions within a cohort could provide insights into their roles in the etiology of cancer and disease in general.The Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) is a prospective study that enrolled over 215,000 individuals in Hawaii and California from 1993 to 1996. The cohort is largely comprised of five major ethnic groups: African American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American, Latino and white. The cohort is followed for disease endpoints via passive and active means. Cancer cases are identified through linkage to SEER registries in the two states, and deaths are identified through linkage to state and national death registries. Other conditions, such as type II diabetes and cardiac events are identified through self-reported and linkage to health care systems, such as Medicare and hospital discharge data.Within the MEC, the risk of cancer varies by ethnic group and a focus has been on finding genetic and lifestyle risk factors that explain these differences. The influence of pre-existing chronic conditions is examined in terms of whether they explain some of the ethnic differences in cancer risk and whether they ...
Source: Cancer Research - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Epidemiology Source Type: research