The association between Life's Essential 8 and all-cause, cancer and non-cancer mortality in US Cancer Survivors: A retrospective cohort study of NHANES

To investigate Life's Essential 8 (LE8), a measure of cardiovascular health (CVH), associations with mortality outcomes in cancer survivors. A prospective cohort study included 1818 cancer survivors aged ≥20 years (weighted population: 13,204,583) from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2018. Linked to mortality data through 2019, LE8 data were gathered through self-reports and lab tests. An LE8 score of 80–100 is considered high CVH, 60–79 is moderate CVH, and 0–59 is low CVH. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to evaluate the associations between LE8 and all-cause, cancer-specific and non-cancer mortality. Subsequently, subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between LE8 and mortality rates across various subgroups. At baseline, there were 1818 cancer survivors. In a 15-year follow-up, 2548 deaths occurred: 601 from cancer, 647 from heart disease, and 1300 from other causes. Multivariable models showed high CVH associated with lower hazard ratios for all-cause, cancer-specific and non-cancer mortality vs. low CVH. Cumulative mortality rates increased during follow-up, more so in the low CVH group. Subgroup analysis revealed significant LE8 interactions with age or Poverty Income Ratio (PIR) for all-cause mortality. Additionally, significant interactions between LE8 and PIR were identified for cancer-specific and non-cancer mortality risks (P for interaction <0.05). Among U.S. cancer survivors, higher CVH is independently linked to lower all-cause, cancer-specific, and non-cancer mortality risks. The new CVH definition shows promise as a primary prevention strategy to reduce mortality rates in U.S. cancer survivors.