Association of behavioral cardiovascular risk factors with mortality in Croatian adult population: the CroHort study

This study examined individual and combined influence of smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol drinking, and unhealthy diet on total mortality. Relationship between individual and combined poor health behaviours and total mortality were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression. Out of 7490 individuals included in the study, during 5 years follow up 808 died. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for men with health behaviour scores 1, 2, 3, and 4 compared with those with score 0 were 1.67 (1.24-2.24), 2.28 (1.64-3.18), 2.24 (1.32-3.84), and 2.86 (0.77-11.70), respectively (p value for trend < 0.001). Adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for women with health behaviour scores 1, 2, and 3 compared with those with score 0 were 1.17 (0.97-1.42), 1.37 (1.02-1.86), and 1.20 (0.37-3.61), respectively (p value for trend = 0.04). A unit of the health behaviour score increased mortality risk equivalent to being 5.9 and 2.9 years older, for man and woman respectively.