Healthy Living and Risk of Major Chronic Diseases in an Older Population

A recent article in the Archives 1 examined the extent to which 4 healthy lifestyle factors and their combinations were associated with reduced risk of developing chronic diseases. In the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)Potsdam study, compared with participants with no healthy factors, those with all 4 healthy factors had reductions of 93% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88% to 95%) for diabetes (P value for linear trend, .001); 81% (95% CI, 47% to 93%) for myocardial infarction (MI) (P value for linear trend, .001); 50% (95% CI, −18% to 79%) for stroke (P value for linear trend, .054); and 36% (95% CI, 5% to 57%) for cancer (P value for linear trend, .001). As suggested by Ford et al, further studies in other populations are needed to evaluate the extent to which chronic disease may be potentially preventable. We investigated whether adhering to the 4 healthy lifestyle factors detailed in the EPIC-Potsdam study influenced the risk of developing incident diabetes, MI, and stroke in an older Australian population.