Four coexisting conditions linked to lower life expectancy
At age 50, UK Biobank participants with all four conditions had 6.9 fewer years of estimated life expectancy than those with none.
Two prospective observational studies followed 429,722 UK Biobank participants and 38,759 participants in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers counted four conditions: cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart or blood vessels; fatty liver disease associated with problems processing nutrients; type 2 diabetes; and obesity. Median follow-up was 13.7 years in the UK cohort and 9.5 years in the US cohort.
More coexisting conditions were associated with higher death risk. Having all four was linked to the highest risk, particularly of cardiovascular death. At age 50, estimated remaining life expectancy was 30.0 years with all four conditions versus 36.9 with none in the UK cohort. In the US cohort, the corresponding estimates were 24.8 and 34.3 years.
Why it matters
These conditions often coexist, making their combined burden relevant to efforts to preserve years of life. The authors supported coordinated heart, liver and metabolic prevention and care.
Caveats
These observational studies cannot show that the conditions caused earlier deaths or that integrated care would extend life. The life expectancy figures were modelled estimates.
From the paper
- Result
… the fully adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality increased with CLM burden, from 1.55 (95% CI 1.51–1.59) for one condition to 2.26 (95% CI 2.18–2.34) for three conditions in the UK Biobank, and from 1.27 (95% CI 1.11–1.47) to 1.90 (95% CI 1.63–2.20) in NHANES.
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