A new study shows that metabolic factors – such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and body mass index – are linked to an increased risk of death from prostate cancer. Such metabolic factors are often grouped together as metabolic syndrome and are known collectively to increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The study, published this week in the journal Cancer, looked at 289,866 men enrolled in the Metabolic Syndrome and Cancer Project at Umeå University in Sweden. Researchers found that during an average follow-up time of 12 years, 961 men died from prostate cancer, out of 6,673 diagnosed with the disease. Of those men, those in the highest category of body mass index had a 36% higher risk of dying from their prostate cancer, and those in the highest category for blood pressure had a 62% higher risk of dying from their prostate cancer.

“These observations suggest that cardiovascular risk factors such as overweight and hypertension are involved in stimulating the progression of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Pär Stattin, lead author of the study and a Urologist at Umeå University.

The study does not link metabolic factors to a risk of developing prostate cancer, only a higher risk of dying from the disease.

Earlier this year, metabolic abnormalities were also linked to more rapid cognitive decline as people age.