Outdoor gardening activity with different frequency and duration may be associated with reduction of total and cause-specific mortality risk for general U.S. adults: Findings from the NHANES

Jing-Hong Liang; Mei-Ling Liu; Shao-Yi Huang; Shan Huang; Ying-Qi Pu; Nan Jiang; Wen-Wen Bao; Yu-Shan Zhang; Zhao-Huan Gui; Li-Xin Hu; Xue-Ya Pu; Jing Li; Ya-Jun Chen

doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2024.02.010

Outdoor gardening activity with different frequency and duration may be associated with reduction of total and cause-specific mortality risk for general U.S. adults: Findings from the NHANES

Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024 Feb 26:S0939-4753(24)00081-4. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2024.02.010. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, PR China.
² Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd., Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, 510080, PR China.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 750000, PR China. Electronic address: lijing@nxmu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, PR China. Electronic address: chenyj68@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38658226
DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2024.02.010

Abstract

Background and aims: Engaging in recommended levels of physical activity (PA) is associated with reduced overall and cause-specific mortality rates. Our study aims to examine the relationship between gardening-specific PA and all-cause and cause-specific mortality based on representative U.S. adults.

Methods and results: A total of 13,812 adults representing 663.5 million non-institutionalized U.S. adults were included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported gardening activity (GA) was assessed by a validated questionnaire, and outcomes of interest were all-cause mortality and mortality specific to certain causes. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using survey-multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. During a median follow-up period of 16.8 years (Interquartile range = 14.8-18.7), there were 3,476 deaths. After adjusting for potential covariates, we found that participants exposed to GA were more likely to have a lower risk of total mortality [HR (95% CI): 0.76 (0.68, 0.85), P-value < 0.001], cancer-specific mortality [HR (95% CI): 0.81 (0.67, 0.99), P-value < 0.05], cardiovascular disease mortality [HR (95% CI): 0.65 (0.53, 0.80), P-value < 0.001], and respiratory disease mortality [HR (95% CI): 0.66 (0.45, 0.98), P-value < 0.05], compared to those without GA exposure. Furthermore, engaging in GA more frequently and for longer durations was significantly associated with a lower total mortality risk.

Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that engaging in GA is associated with a decreased risk of overall and cause-specific mortality. However, further longitudinal or interventional studies are needed to investigate the potential benefits of GA.

Keywords: General adults; Mortality; National health and nutrition examination survey; Nationwide cohort; Outdoor gardening activity.

Copyright © 2024 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.