Life’s Essential 8 and the risk of cardiovascular disease death and all-cause mortality in Finnish men

Abstract Aims The aim of the study was to examine the association between Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) and the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Methods and results The LE8 was computed for 1662 men, aged 42–60 years, without pre-existing history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease study. The LE8 factors include diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep, body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipids. Each LE8 factor was scored between 0 and 100 points. The summation of all points generated the total LE8 score, which was categorized into quartiles ≤−420, 420–485, 485–550, and 550. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of LE8 scores for the outcomes. During a median follow-up of 30 years, 402 and 987 men died from CVD and any cause, respectively. The total LE8 score among participants ranged from 185 to 750. The higher the LE8 scores, the lower the risk of dying from CVD and all-cause. Following adjustment for age, alcohol consumption, and socio-economic status, every 50-unit increase in LE8 score was associated with 17% and 14% lower risk of CVD and all-cause deaths, respectively. Men within LE8 top quartile had 60% lower risk of CVD mortality when compared with those within the bottom quartile. Conclusion Life’s Essential 8 was strongly and inversely associated with the risk of CVD death and all-cause mortality among ageing men. Measures that promote optimal LE8 scores should be encouraged among the general population.