International Scholarly Research Notices

Research Article

Cancer Risk and Behavioral Factors, Comorbidities, and Functional Status in the US Elderly Population

Table 2

Relative risks (only significant estimates are shown) of incidental cancer for specific variables, four cancer sites, and two surveys (1994 and 1999). Three used methods are marked as AA (age-adjusted), CT (time follow-up in Cox model), and CA (age follow-up in Cox model).

(a) Female breast cancer


N	Variable	RR94 AA	RR94 CT	RR94 CA	RR99 AA	RR99 CT	RR99 CA

B10	Has no other cancers being diagnosed	0.26	0.19	0.22	0.14	0.12	0.09
B12	Has no insomnia/frequent trouble sleeping	—	—	—	0.47	0.22	0.46
B18	Has no hypertension in the last year	0.34	0.43	0.33	—	—	—
D13	Needs hearing aid	1.98	—	—	3.39	—	4.52
F1	Does not visit senior center regularly	—	—	—	0.13	0.16	0.14
F6	Does not take vitamins/supplements	—	—	—	0.16	0.31	0.17
H17	Did not read magazine/newspaper in the last week	0.11	0.15	—	—	—	—
H18	Did not work on hobby in the last week	0.5	0.39	0.48	—	—	—
H25	Did not lose appetite during the last two weeks	0.38	0.29	0.3	—	—	—
I2	Does not live in community for retired or disabled persons	—	—	—	0.28	—	0.25
I4	Lives in house/apartment with ramps	—	—	—	5.72	—	5.1
I5	Lives in house/apartment with elevator	—	—	—	6.63	—	6.64
I6	Lives in house/apartment with extra wide door	—	—	—	3.31	2.66	5.58
I8	Lives in house/apartment with raised toilet	—	—	—	5.66	3.15	6.42
I10	Thinks that grab bars would make things more comfortable	—	—	—	5.2	3.2	5.87
I11	Thinks that ramps would make things more comfortable	—	—	—	8.13	5.75	16.19
I12	Thinks that elevators or stair lifts would make things more comfortable	—	—	—	5.31	5.61	16
I13	Thinks that extra wide door would make things more comfortable	—	—	—	6.44	4.5	15.55
I14	Thinks that push bars on doors would make things more comfortable	—	—	—	7.07	14.12	30
I15	Thinks that raised toilet would make things more comfortable	3.55	5.4	5.89	3.72	4.56	8.92
I16	Does not think that any above item make things more comfortable	0.41	0.33	0.38	0.33	0.45	0.25
J6	Is not covered by private health insurance plan	0.16	0.24	0.19	—	—	—
K3	Did not stay in a hospital overnight in the last year	—	—	—	0.29	0.21	0.23
K15	Did not get optometrist care in the last month	—	—	—	2.39	4.35	—
K38	Household Members will end up paying for medical services	3.72	3.32	5.28	7.59	—	5.07
K39	Children or non-household members will end up paying for medical services	—	—	—	7.55	—	4.52
M4	Lives in house/apartment	0.42	0.31	0.39	—	—	—

(b) Prostate cancer


N	Variable	RR94 AA	RR94 CT	RR94 CA	RR99 AA	RR99 CT	RR99 CA

B1	Has no rheumatism/arthritis	—	—	—	2.41	2.21	—
B20	Has no arms/legs circulation troubles in the last year	7.05	3.65	4.85	3.36	—	—
C5	ADL: cannot bath	0.23	—	—	0.16	—	—
C6	ADL: cannot use toilet	0.09	—	—	0.09	—	—
C10	IADL: cannot prepare meal	0.17	—	—	0.1	—	—
C11	IADL: cannot shoppe for groceries	0.17	—	—	0.23	—	—
D3	Very difficult to climb one flight of stairs	0.34	—	—	0.08	—	—
F10	Often eats eggs	—	—	—	0.48	0.46	0.44
F17	Often eats pasta such as spaghetti or noodles	—	—	—	0.33	0.49	0.34
G3	Consumes alcohol at least once per week	2.17	2.01	1.79	—	—	—
H12	Nobody checks/calls to make sure he/she is all right	3.21	2.44	3.34	2.05	—	—
H17	Did not read magazine/newspaper in the last week	0.34	—	—	0.18	—	—
H19	Did not play games (e.g., solitaire) or work on puzzles in the last week	—	—	—	2.33	2.87	3.12
H22	Did not attend civic/religious/other meetings in the last month	—	—	—	0.43	0.58	0.52
K18	Did not receive medical care in doctor's office in the last month	1.76	—	1.77	4.52	2.62	4.02
K44	Has bought more than 2 prescription medicine in the last month	0.52	0.57	0.58	0.33	0.54	0.42

(c) Lung cancer


N	Variable	RR94 AA	RR94 CT	RR94 CA	RR99 AA	RR99 CT	RR99 CA

A1	Male	2.86	2.13	3.01	1.73	—	1.8
B24	Did not have emphysema in the last year	—	—	—	0.34	0.32	0.27
B27	Did not have broken other than hip bones in the last year	0.35	—	—	0.26	—	0.37
D7	Very difficult reach above head	2.6	—	—	3.12	—	2.58
D10	Very difficult grasp and handle small objects	4.53	—	3.57	—	—	—
E10	Did bowling in the past 2 weeks	5.16	6.07	6.22	—	—	—
F1	Does not visit senior center regularly	0.33	0.45	0.46	—	—	—
F11	Often eats poultry	—	—	—	0.38	—	0.44
G1	Current non-smoker	0.21	0.24	0.2	0.45	0.38	0.33
G4	Smokes at least 1 pack per day	7.39	5.77	6.51	7.04	7.19	8.3
H8	Does not lose her/his temper	0.42	0.3	0.39	—	—	—
H11	Does not forget to eat, take medicine, and pay bills	—	—	—	0.3	0.36	0.31
H17	Did not read magazine/newspaper in the last week	2.26	1.95	2.1	0.47	—	—
H27	Not satisfied with his/her life as a whole	3.42	—	3.36	—	—	—
I5	Lives in house/apartment with elevator	5.48	—	4.49	—	—	—
I20	No food or grocery store in the neighborhood	—	—	—	2.57	2.2	2.28
J4	Is not covered by public assistance program paying for health care	0.26	0.16	0.12	—	—	—
J6	Is not covered by private health insurance plan	—	—	—	3.11	—	2.6
K14	Did not receive care from podiatrist in last month	—	—	—	3.64	2.89	3.63
K20	Does not have a regular source of medical care	3.42	2.71	3.22	—	—	—
K36	Medicaid will end up paying for medical services	3.41	—	—	2.23	—	2.91
K37	Veterans Administration will end up paying for medical services	4.83	—	3.63	—	—	—
M4	Lives in house/apartment	—	—	—	0.35	—	0.35
N2	Has normal BMI (18–25 kg/m²)	—	—	—	3.33	3.08	3.63
N3	Has BMI >25 kg/m²	—	—	—	0.3	0.34	0.28

(d) Colon cancer


N	Variable	RR94 AA	RR94 CT	RR94 CA	RR99 AA	RR99 CT	RR99 CA

B2	Does not have paralysis	0.16	0.29	0.22	0.25	—	—
B16	Did not have heart attack in the last year	—	—	—	0.25	—	0.22
B17	Did not have other heart problems in the last year	—	—	—	0.34	—	0.3
D15	Uses devices other than glasses/lenses, hearing aid, and artificial larynx	5.31	—	4.37	—	—	—
E1	Walked for exercise in the past 2 weeks	2.64	1.83	2.54	—	—	—
E29	Often drinks coffee/tea	—	—	—	0.42	0.39	0.27
H17	Did not read magazine/newspaper in the last week	1.89	—	—	2.78	—	—
I3	Lives in house/apartment with grab bars	2.45	1.88	2.12	—	—	—
I13	Thinks that extra wide door would make things more comfortable	3.91	3.51	—	—	—	—
K3	Did not stay in hospital overnight in the last year	—	—	—	0.46	0.3	0.38
K35	Medicare will end up paying for medical services	3.4	4.21	5.03	—	—	—
L15	Cannot tell what is the name of this city	—	—	—	10.93	—	18.73