[Diabetes-talk] information on webmd about cancer and chronic illnesses

[cheryl echevarria]

Cancer Linked to Other Chronic Illnesses
People With High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Heart Attack More Likely to Have 
Cancer

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News  Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD


April 2, 2010 -- Having a heart attack or chronic illness may raise the risk 
of being diagnosed with cancer , according to a new survey.

Researchers found that people with high blood pressure , high cholesterol , 
or diabetes were about twice as likely to have cancer as healthy people 
without these chronic illnesses.

In addition, the survey found that people who had suffered a heart attack 
were nearly three times more likely to have a cancer diagnosis than those 
who hadn't.

The survey was conducted as part of the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index 
and based on telephone interviews with more than 350,000 adults in the U.S. 
conducted between Jan. 2- Dec. 30, 2008, and Jan. 2- Dec. 29, 2009. It has a 
sampling error of no more than 1 percentage point.

The survey showed the relationship between a cancer diagnosis and the 
following health conditions:

Health Condition
 % Diagnosed With Cancer

High blood pressure
 11.8

No high blood pressure
 5.0



High cholesterol
 11.7

No high cholesterol
 5.3



Diabetes
 12.7

No diabetes
 6.4



Heart attack
 18.1

No heart attack
 6.5


The risk of developing any of these chronic illnesses increases with 
advancing age, but researchers say the link between these illnesses and 
cancer remained significant within every age bracket. The relationship 
between cancer and some of the conditions, such as heart attack, were 
especially pronounced under age 45.

Researchers point out that the results do not necessarily mean any of these 
chronic illnesses cause cancer, but they do show that cancer and chronic 
conditions share many risk factors and may be interrelated.

For example, smoking cigarettes is a risk factor for both heart attack and 
lung cancer , and cholesterol itself is not a cancer-causing substance but 
can enhance the effects of other carcinogens in the body.




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