Association between adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations and multimorbidity among a cohort of British Columbians.

Objectives: This study examined the association between adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations and multimorbidity prevalence in adults aged 34-73 years in a population-based cohort of British Columbians, Canada. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected between 2009 and 2016 from a population-based cohort (n=27,268). Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions from 17 self-reported diseases. Adherence to four cancer primary prevention recommendations was assessed: maintaining a healthy body weight, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and limiting alcohol consumption. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between adherence to cancer prevention recommendations and multimorbidity. Results: Prevalence of multimorbidity in the cohort was 36% and adherence to cancer prevention recommendations was generally high: maintaining a healthy body weight (69%), being physically active (51%), eating a healthy diet (86%), limiting alcohol consumption (73%). Greater adherence to a composite cancer prevention score was associated with significantly lower odds of multimorbidity (adjusted OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.76-0.90). Adherence to the healthy body weight recommendation reduced the odds of multimorbidity by 54% (adjusted OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.43-0.50). Conclusions: Adherence to cancer primary prevention recommendations was significantly associated with reduced multimorbidity prevalence in a cohort of Canadian adults.