Association of Light-Intensity Physical Activity With Mortality in the Older Population: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Juntae Kim; Pil-Sung Yang; Byoung-Eun Park; Tae Soo Kang; Seong-Hoon Lim; Sungsoo Cho; Su-Yeon Lee; Young Hak Chung; Myung-Yong Lee; Dongmin Kim; Boyoung Joung

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.859277

Association of Light-Intensity Physical Activity With Mortality in the Older Population: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 Apr 22:9:859277. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.859277. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan-si, South Korea.
² Department of Cardiology, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam-si, South Korea.
³ Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of information about mortality related to light-intensity physical activity (LPA) in the older population. We examine the associations between physical activity and mortality, focusing on the effect of light-intensity physical activity and the dose-response relationship between physical activity and mortality.

Methods: We analyzed a total of 58,537 participants aged ≥ 65 years (mean age, 73.9 ± 5.8 years; male, 36.0%) in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between 2009 and 2012. The Date of the end of follow-up was December 31, 2013. Individuals were divided into four categories according to physical activity intensity: totally sedentary (43.3%), LPA only (35.8%), LPA and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) (16.3%), MVPA only (4.5%). Physical activity was quantified using standardized self-reported questionnaires which composed of the duration and frequency of physical activity.

Results: During a mean follow-up of 39.6 ± 14.0 months, 5,651 (9.7%) deaths occurred. Compared with totally sedentary individuals, those in the LPA only, LPA and MVPA, and MVPA only groups showed 26% [hazard ratio (HR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.82], 27% (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.63-0.84), and 34% (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.54-0.79) lower all-cause mortality risk, showing an inverse relationship between physical activity intensity and mortality risk. In contrast, the LPA only, LPA and MVPA, and MVPA only groups represented a stronger inverse association with CV mortality (LPA: HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62-0.92; LPA with MVPA: HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.55-0.999; MVPA, HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37-0.87). Among participants performing LPA alone, participants performing less than the recommended dose of physical activity had lower all-cause mortality than those with sedentary activity (1-249 MET-min/week: HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.67-0.82, 250-499 MET-min/week: HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.59-0.72).

Conclusion: Physical activity, even low doses of LPA, was associated with reduced mortality risk in the elderly population. This study may motivate sedentary individuals to engage in any physical activity for mortality benefits.

Keywords: all-cause mortality; cardiovascular mortality; elderly; exercise; light-intensity physical activity; sport cardiology.