The influence of individual and neighborhood-level characteristics on rural-urban disparities in cardiovascular disease mortality among U.S. women diagnosed with breast and gynecologic cancers.

OBJECTIVE: Rural-urban disparities exist in cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Investigations of CVD mortality among breast and gynecologic cancer (BGC) survivors from rural/urban communities are limited. We evaluated the influence of individual and neighborhood-level factors on rural-urban disparities in CVD mortality among BGC survivors. METHODS: Data were from 1,139,767 women aged ≥20 years from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program who were diagnosed with BGC from 2000 to 2016 that was merged with Area Health Resource Files for neighborhood-level factors (smoking, cancer screening, primary care provider density and socioeconomic index). Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for CVD mortality were calculated and multilevel Cox models, accounting for competing events, were used to estimate hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The average age of BGC survivors was 60 years, with 10.3% of them living in rural counties. During a median follow-up of 5.1 years, 47,995 CVD deaths occured. Women with BGC had excess CVD mortality compared to general population women (SMR 6.05; CI: 6.00-6.11). This risk was highest among women aged <50 years (SMR = 27.16; CI: 25.74-28.62). In models adjusted for demographics, cancer stage and cancer therapy, women with BGC in rural communities had higher CVD deaths than those in urban communities (HR = 1.10, CI:1. 05-1.15). Additional adjustment for neighborhood-level characteristics attenuated the relation of rurality with CVD mortality (HR = 1.02, CI: 0.98-1.07). CONCLUSIONS: BGC survivors living in rural communities have elevated risk of CVD mortality. Neighborhood-level characteristics explained the rural-urban disparities in CVD mortality observed among BGC survivors.

The association of skipping breakfast with cancer-related and all-cause mortality in a national cohort of United States adults.

PURPOSE: Many lifestyle and dietary factors have been recognized as risk factors for cancer morbidity and mortality. However, investigations of the association of the frequency of breakfast consumption and cancer are limited. This study aimed to examine the association of skipping breakfast with all-cause and cancer-related mortality in a national cohort of United States men and women. METHODS: Data were from 7,007 adults aged ≥ 40 years who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) and had follow-up information on mortality up until 31 December 2015. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 55.4 years, with 54.4% and 79% being women and non-Hispanic whites, respectively. Approximately, 16% of participants rarely consumed breakfast, 23.0% consumed breakfast some days, and 61% consumed breakfast every day. During a median follow-up of 22.2 years, 3,573 deaths occurred with 795 being related to cancer. In models adjusting for sociodemographic factors, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol levels, total energy intake and diet quality, persons who rarely consumed breakfast had a higher risk of cancer-related mortality (HR = 1.52; CI:1.06-2.18) and all-cause (HR = 1.69; CI: 1.42-2.02) compared to those who took breakfast every day. CONCLUSION: In this nationally representative sample, skipping breakfast was associated with elevated risks for all-cause and cancer-related mortality. This study provides evidence for the benefits of regular breakfast consumption in reducing the risk of all-cause and cancer mortality.