Cardiovascular Factors Linked to Prostate Cancer

Characterized by central obesity, hypertension, and adverse glucose and insulin metabolism, Metabolic Syndrome is a condition associated with increased risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Christel Haggstrom, from Umea University (Sweden), and colleagues examined data on 289,866 men enrolled in the Metabolic Syndrome and Cancer Project.  Over the course of 12 years, nearly 6,700 of the men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Of these men, about 1,000 died from the disease.  The team calculated that the men with the highest body-mass index (BMI) were at 36% higher risk of dying from prostate cancer. Those with high blood pressure had a 62% greater risk of death from the disease. And men with the highest combined score on all metabolic factors were more likely to die from prostate cancer.  Pointing out that: “no evidence of an association between high levels of metabolic factors and the risk of prostate cancer,” the study authors warn that: “high BMI, elevated blood pressure, and a composite score of all metabolic factors were associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer.”