Smoking, alcohol use, high BMI (Body Mass Index) and other known risk factors were responsible for over 37% of all cancer deaths in India.
Globally, 44.4% (4.5 million) of all cancer deaths were attributable to risk factors. The estimates are based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk factors Report, 2019.
According to the study, nearly half (30.6%) of all cancer deaths in men globally in 2019 (2.8 million) were due to known risk factors, compared with 36.3% all female cancer deaths (1.8 million) attributable to these factors.
“Smoking continues to be the leading risk factor for cancer globally, with other substantial contributors to cancer burden varying.”
In the Lancet study, researchers investigated how 34 behavioral, metabolic, environmental and occupational risk factors contributed to deaths and ill health due to 23 cancer types in 2019. Changes in cancer burden between 2010 and 2019 due to the risk factors were also assessed.
They found that the leading risk factors globally for cancer deaths and ill health for both sexes were smoking and alcohol use and high BMI.
The leading cause of risk attributable cancer death for both men and women globally were tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer, which accounted for 36.9% of all cancer deaths attributable to risk factors.
This was followed by colon and rectum cancer (13.3%), oesophageal cancer (9.7%) and stomach cancer (6.6%) in men and cervical cancer (17.9%), colon and rectum cancer (15.8%), and breast cancer (11%) in women.
Between 2010 and 2019, cancer deaths due to risk factors rose by 20.4% globally, increasing from 3.7 million to 4.45 million. Ill health due to cancer increased by 16.8% over the same period, rising from 89.9 million to 105 million. DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years), the Lancet statement said. Metabolic risks accounted for the greatest increase in cancer deaths and ill health, with deaths increasing by 34.7% (6,43,000 deaths in 2010 to 865,000 in 2019) and DALY’s by 33.3% (14.6 million in 2010 to 19.4 million in 2019), it added.
SECOND-HAND SMOKE 10TH BIGGEST CANCER RISK: LANCET
It is not just people with smoke those living in close proximity to smokers are also affected by cancers caused due to the habit. A new study published in the Lancet says second-hand smoke is the 10th most common risk factor for cancer.
DALY’s or Disability Adjusted Life Years, for a disease or health condition is the sum of the years of life lost due to premature mortality.
Second hand smoke is the combination of smoke from the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke breathed out by smokers. As per Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, second hand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals of which hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.
“Non-smokers who are exposed to second hand smoke at home or at work, increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20%-30%”.
TOP CANCER RISK FACTORS GLOBALLY:-
- Smoking
- Alcohol use
- High Body Mass Index
- Unsafe sex
- High fasting plasma glucose
- Ambient particulate matter pollution
- Occupational exposure to asbestos
- Diet low in whole grains
- Diet low in milk
- Second hand smoke
