Mortality benefits of population-wide adherence to national physical activity guidelines: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

We quantified the mortality benefits and attributable fractions associated with engaging in physical activity across a range of levels, including those recommended by national guidelines. Data were from the Allied Dunbar National Fitness Survey, a population-based prospective cohort comprising 1,796 male and 2,122 female participants aged 16–96 years, randomly selected from 30 English constituencies in 1990. Participants were tagged for mortality at the Office for National Statistics. Cox multivariable regression quantified the association between self-reported achievement of activity guidelines—150 min of at least moderate activity per week, equivalent here to 30 or more 20-min episodes of at least moderate activity per month—and mortality adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, social class, geographical area, anxiety/depression and interview season. There were 1,175 deaths over a median (IQR) of 22.9 (3.9) years follow-up; a mortality rate of 15.2, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 14.4–16.1 per 1,000 person years. Compared with being inactive (no 20-min bouts per month), meeting activity guidelines (30+ bouts) was associated with a 25 % lower mortality rate, adjusting for measured confounders. If everyone adhered to recommended-, or even low-activity levels, a substantial proportion of premature mortality might be avoided (PAF, 95 % CI 20.6, 6.9–32.3 and 8.9, 4.2–13.4 %, respectively). Among a representative English population, adherence to activity guidelines was associated with significantly reduced mortality. Efforts to increase population-wide activity levels could produce large public health benefits and should remain a focus of health promotion efforts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10654-014-9965-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Accelerometer-measured physical activity is not associated with two-year weight change in African-origin adults from five diverse populations

“…Importantly, this is not to say, that PA per se is not important for overall achievement of health such as the prevention or delay of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which is undisputed (Glenn et al, 2015; Lin et al, 2015; Long et al, 2015), but that its role in the prevention of population level weight gain may be overstated.…”

P6.11 Phosphodiesterase Type-5 Inhibitor Use in Type 2 Diabetes Is Associated With a Reduction in All Cause Mortality

“…We did not have reliable information concerning patient activity levels, partner status or frequency of sexual intercourse, all of which are associated with improved life expectancy. [44][45][46] Furthermore, data on incidence and prevalence of ED were not available in this patient cohort and we were therefore unable to account for this in multivariate analysis. We were however able to adjust for a number of intergroup differences using several methods including propensity-matching and multiple imputations to provide robust findings.…”

Physical activity and long-term mortality risk in older adults: A prospective population based study (NEDICES)

“…Likewise, Samitz et al (Samitz et al, 2011) also showed significant risk ratios (0.58 women vs. 0.72 men) for all domains of PA (occupational PA, exercise and sports). However, other studies and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which used an accelerometer to measure PA, did not find this moderator effect in older populations (Woodcock et al, 2011, Wu et al, 2015, Long et al, 2015). A possible explanation is that men and women may also overestimate or underestimate, respectively, their PA level (Löllgen et al, 2009, Wu et al, 2015).…”