"Cancer Survivors with Metabolic Disorders Have Up to 55% Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease"

Seoul St. Mary's Hospital Cardiology Professor Jeong Mihyang's Team
150,000 Cancer Survivors Tracked for 10 Years
Greater Metabolic Disorders Proportionally Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Hospitalization

Professor Jeong Mihyang, Department of Cardiology, Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A study has found that cancer survivors with metabolic disorders have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Jeong Mi-hyang (first author) from the Department of Cardiology at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, and Professor Lee Sang-wook (corresponding author) from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, along with their research team, investigated and analyzed the relationship between insulin resistance index (TyG index) in cancer survivors and the risk of cardiovascular disease. They announced on the 28th that the more severe the insulin resistance, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially the risk of vascular disease caused by atherosclerosis.

The research team conducted the study on adult patients who were diagnosed with cancer between 2002 and 2005 and underwent regular health checkups between 2009 and 2010, i.e., cancer patients who survived more than 5 years (155,167 people, average age 59.9 years), using big data from the National Health Insurance Service.

By tracking the correlation between the TyG index of cancer survivors and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and heart failure for about 10 years, it was found that the higher the TyG index, the statistically significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease occurrence.

The TyG index is an indicator of insulin resistance that does not require additional blood sampling for insulin testing, and many recent studies have been conducted using this index. The research team divided the study subjects into six groups based on the TyG index for comparative analysis. (Below 8 (control group), 8?8.4, 8.5?8.9, 9.0?9.4, 9.5?9.9, 10 and above)

The group with a TyG index of 8?8.4 showed an 8% increased risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease compared to the control group. The 8.5?8.9 group had a 10% increase, the 9.0?9.4 group a 23% increase, the 9.5?9.9 group a 34% increase, and the group with 10 or higher showed up to a 55% increase in risk. For every 1-point increase in the TyG index, the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease increased by 16%, and among cardiovascular diseases, the risk of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction increased by 45%. Particularly, the association between the TyG index and cardiovascular disease was more pronounced in vascular diseases caused by atherosclerosis, such as ischemic heart disease including acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, where blood vessels narrow or become blocked.

Professor Jeong Mi-hyang stated, “Cancer survivors and medical staff tend to focus mainly on cancer recurrence, often neglecting cardiovascular disease management. However, in the long term, the disease burden caused by cardiovascular disease cannot be ignored.” She emphasized, “For patients who have survived more than 5 years after a cancer diagnosis, it is necessary to carefully monitor metabolic disorder indicators and proactively prevent and manage those at risk.”

The results of this study were published on April 16 in the international academic journal Cardiovascular Diabetology (IF 9.951).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.