Association of better cardiovascular health defined by life's essential 8 with lower incidences of lung diseases.

BACKGROUND

Life's Simple 7 (LS7) has been associated with lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and abnormal sleeping increases the risk of cardio-pulmonary diseases and associated comorbidities. We aimed to examine the relation between Life's Essential 8 (LE8), with sleep quality added as the 8th metric to LS7, and lung disease and function.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2005-2012 were used, which included 9202 participants. LE8, as a cardiovascular health index, was introduced by the American Heart Association. The outcomes were respiratory symptoms related to chronic bronchitis, asthma, and chronic lung disease. Multivariable logistics and restricted cubic spline regressions were utilized to assess the associations.

RESULTS

Approximately 11.53%, 9.60%, 14.94%, 31.82%, 13.02%, 7.06%, and 2.63% of participants self-reported cough, phlegm production, wheezing, exertional dyspnea, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, respectively. Participants in the highest category of LE8 had the lowest incidence of lung symptoms and diseases. For every 1-point increase in LE8, the risk odds decreased by 1% to 4% in lung symptoms and diseases. The health behavior score was independently associated with all outcomes, while the health factor score was relevant to wheezing, exertional dyspnea, and asthma.

CONCLUSIONS

A higher LE8 score is associated with a lower presence of lung symptoms and diseases. Optimizing LE8 holds a promise for improving clinical outcomes in patients with comorbidities of chronic pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, a widely recognized modern healthcare challenge.