Low levels of leisure-time physical activity still beneficial in reducing stroke risk

Key takeaways:

• All levels of leisure-time physical activity reduced the risk for stroke in adults compared with no physical activity.
• The effects were also independent of age and sex.

Any level of leisure-time physical activity — even below the recommended amount — reduced the risk for stroke in adults, a study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry showed.

According to Federico De Santis, PhD, from the University of L'Aquila, in Italy, and colleagues, determining if low leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) can protect against strokes “is relevant for public health perspective as not all people can achieve moderate-high levels of LTPA because of psychophysical or social limitations.”

As Healio previously reported, only 17.5% of adults around the world meet WHO’s recommended physical activity levels, which includes 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity per week.

In the systematic review and meta-analysis, the researchers assessed 15 studies composed of 752,050 adults who were monitored over a median 10.5 years.

The studies measured LTPA differently — some using three levels, for example, and others, up to five.

De Santis and colleagues found that in five studies examining three levels of LTPA, below target (RR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.75-0.88) and ideal LTPA (RR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.58-0.86) both reduced the risk for stroke vs. no LTPA.

In six studies that identified four levels of LTPA, low (RR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.9), moderate (RR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.62-0.87) and intense (RR = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.61-0.92) activity levels all reduced stroke risk vs. no LTPA.

In two studies that examined five levels of LTPA, low, moderate and intense LTPA had RRs of 0.87 (95% CI, 0.77-0.98), 0.71 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.88) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.73-1.32), respectively, for any stroke vs. no activity.

Overall, all levels of LTPA across the studies were associated with risk reductions of between 18% to 29% compared with no activity.

The effects were also independent of age and sex, the researchers said.

There were several limitations in the study. Definitions of LPTA were “highly heterogeneous,” as were methods for reporting LPTA levels, De Santis and colleagues noted.

The findings “encourage campaigns to overcome sedentary lifestyle and to strive to do the best level of LTPA that people can achieve according to their possibilities, an approach that will pay in terms of stroke prevention even if LTPA goals are met only in part,” the researchers concluded.

References:

• De Santis F, et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2024;doi:10.1136/jnnp-2023-332457.
• Even low levels of leisure time physical activity help to lower stroke risk. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1036244. Published March 5, 2024. Accessed March 7, 2024.