Young adult cancer risk behaviours originate in adolescence: a longitudinal analysis using ALSPAC, a UK birth cohort study

BACKGROUND: An estimated 40% of cancer cases in the UK in 2015 were attributable to cancer risk behaviours. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and unprotected sexual intercourse are known causes of cancer and there is strong evidence that physical inactivity is associated with cancer. These cancer risk behaviours co-occur however little is known about how they pattern longitudinally across adolescence and early adulthood. Using data from ALSPAC, a prospective population-based UK birth cohort study, we explored patterns of adolescent cancer risk behaviours and their associations with cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood. METHODS: Six thousand three hundred fifty-one people (46.0% of ALSPAC participants) provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at one time during adolescence, 1951 provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at all time points. Our exposure measure was quartiles of a continuous score summarising cumulative exposure to cancer risk behaviours and longitudinal latent classes summarising distinct categories of adolescents exhibiting similar patterns of behaviours, between age 11 and 18 years. Using both exposure measures, odds of harmful drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C ≥ 8),daily tobacco smoking, nicotine dependence (Fagerström test ≥4), obesity (BMI ≥30), high waist circumference (females: ≥80 cm and males: ≥94 cm, and high waist-hip ratio (females: ≥0.85 and males: ≥1.00) at age 24 were estimated using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We found distinct groups of adolescents characterised by consistently high and consistently low engagement in cancer risk behaviours. After adjustment, adolescents in the top quartile had greater odds of all outcomes in early adulthood: nicotine dependency (odds ratio, OR = 5.37, 95% confidence interval, CI = 3.64–7.93); daily smoking (OR = 5.10, 95% CI =3.19–8.17); obesity (OR = 4.84, 95% CI = 3.33–7.03); high waist circumference (OR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.94–3.16); harmful drinking (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.57–2.65); and high waist-hip ratio (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.30–2.71), compared to the bottom quartile. In latent class analysis, adolescents characterised by consistently high-risk behaviours throughout adolescence were at higher risk of all cancer risk behaviours at age 24, except harmful drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to adolescent cancer risk behaviours greatly increased the odds of cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood. Interventions to reduce these behaviours should target multiple rather than single risk behaviours and should focus on adolescence. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08098-8.