Association of daily step volume and intensity with cardiometabolic risk in older adults

Abstract

Background: To investigate the association of daily step volume and intensity with cardiometabolic risk in older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 248 community-dwelling older adults (66.0 ± 4.6 years; 78 % females). The daily step volume and intensity were assessed using accelerometry. Cardiometabolic risk was defined using a continuous metabolic syndrome score (cMetS). The participants were categorized according to their daily step volume (inactive <5000; low active 5000-7499; active 7500-9999; highly active 10,000+ steps/day), and intensity (peak 30-min cadence; lowest, < 40; low, 40-59; average, 60-79; high, 80-99; highest, 100+ steps/min). Generalized linear models were used for data analyses.

Results: The active (β = -0.29, p = 0.040) and the highly active (β = -0.40, p = 0.026) groups had lower cMetS compared to the inactive group. No significant difference was found between the low active and inactive groups (β = -0.21, p = 0.098). Every increment of 1000 steps/day was associated with a decrease of 0.06 in cMetS (p < 0.001). The average (β = -0.37, p = 0.028), high (β = -0.42, p = 0.015), and highest (β = -0.81, p = 0.001) groups had lower cMetS than the lowest group. No significant difference was observed between the low and lowest groups (β = -0.22, p = 0.192). Every increment of 10 steps/min in the peak 30-min cadence was associated with a decrease of 0.07 in cMetS (p = 0.003).

Conclusions: Daily step volume and intensity were inversely associated with cardiometabolic risk in community-dwelling older adults in a dose-response manner.

Keywords: Accelerometer; Aging; Ambulatory behavior; Metabolic syndrome; Physical activity.