Physical Activity Trajectories among Persons of Turkish Descent Living in Germany—A Cohort Study

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) behavior is increasingly described as trajectories taking changes over a longer period into account. Little is known, however, about predictors of those trajectories among migrant populations. Therefore, the aim of the present cohort study was to describe changes of PA over six years and to explore migration-related and other predictors for different PA trajectories in adults of Turkish descent living in Berlin. At baseline (2011/2012) and after six years, sociodemographics, health behavior, and medical information were assessed. Four PA trajectories were defined using data of weekly PA from baseline and follow-up: “inactive”, “decreasing”, “increasing”, and “stable active”. Multivariable regression analyses were performed in order to determine predictors for the “stable active” trajectory, and results were presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). In this analysis, 197 people (60.9% women, mean age ± standard deviation 49.9 ± 12.8 years) were included. A total of 77.7% were first-generation migrants, and 50.5% had Turkish citizenship. The four PA trajectories differed regarding citizenship, preferred questionnaire language, and marital status. “Stable active” trajectory membership was predicted by educational level (high vs. low: aOR 4.20, 95%CI [1.10; 16.00]), citizenship (German or dual vs. Turkish only: 3.60 [1.20; 10.86]), preferred questionnaire language (German vs. Turkish: 3.35 [1.05; 10.66]), and BMI (overweight vs. normal weight: 0.28 [0.08; 0.99]). In our study, migration-related factors only partially predicted trajectory membership, however, persons with citizenship of their country of origin and/or with poor language skills should be particularly considered when planning PA prevention programs.

Predictors of Changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Turkish Migrant Cohort in Germany

“…Among the studies that reported associated factors with SB increase, factors were changes in working situation (working from home or having lost a job) [ 46 ], male sex, and non-smoking [ 47 ]. While the previous results of this cohort study showed that German citizenship and German as preferred questionnaire language were associated with a positive PA trajectory [ 23 ], in the present study none of the migration-related variables was associated with decreased PA or increased SB. Since the results of this study were comparable with other studies conducted in Germany, at least for Berlin there does not seem to be a large difference between the population of origin and persons with a Turkish background.…”

“…There is a study from Australia that investigated coping strategies among migrants during the pandemic, but without taking physical activity into account [ 22 ]. A recent study investigating a Turkish migrant sample showed that PA and SB changes depended, among other things, on migration-related factors like citizenship, and the preferred language when completing a questionnaire; however, these results were reported before the COVID-19 pandemic [ 23 ].…”

Aetiological research on the health of migrants living in Germany: a systematic literature review

“…Being registered in a refugee camp or reception centre served to define migrant status in 11 articles, while citizenship (outside Germany) was used in 4 articles. In three articles, name-based algorithms were applied to register data for the identification of persons with migration background 22–24…”