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All levels of physical activity found to postpone mortality

Individuals who are physically active, regardless of duration, have a higher chance of postponing mortality, with no upper limit to exercise lengths, according to a recently published study.

“Meeting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans minimum by either moderate or vigorous intensity activities was associated with nearly the maximum longevity benefit,” Hannah Arem, MHS, PhD, of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute Shady Grove, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues wrote.

Hannah Arem

Researchers analyzed six studies from the National Cancer Institute Cohort Consortium, with data gathered between 1992 and 2003. Population-based prospective cohorts with self-reported physical activity in both the U.S. and Europe were evaluated in 2014. Participants (n = 661,137) had a median age of 62 years, and of the total number of participants, 116,686 deaths were included.

Individuals who reported physical activity times lower than the recommended guideline of 7.5 metabolic-equivalent hours per week had a 20% lower mortality risk (HR = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.78-0.82), compared with participants who reported no physical activity. Participants who reported 1 to 2 times the minimum recommended physical activity time had a 31% lower risk, (HR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.67-0.7), and those reporting 2 to 3 times the recommendations had a 37% lower mortality risk (HR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.62-0.65) compared with individuals reporting no activity.

The upper threshold for mortality risk was activity levels 3 to 5 times the recommended guidelines (HR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.59-0.62). However, the researchers noted that the benefit was modest compared with the recommended minimum (31% vs. 39%).

At 10 times or more than the recommended minimum, (HR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.59 – 0.78), no harm was observed.

“These findings are informative for individuals at both ends of the physical activity spectrum: they provide evidence to inactive individuals by showing that modest amounts of activity provide substantial benefit from postponing mortality while reassuring very active individuals of no exercise-associated increase in mortality risk,” Arem and colleagues wrote.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.