Total Physical Activity, Exercise Intensity, and Walking Speed as Predictors of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Over 7 Years in Older Men: The Concord Health and Aging in Men Project

Benjumin Hsu; Dafna Merom; Fiona M Blyth; Vasi Naganathan; Vasant Hirani; David G Le Couteur; Markus J Seibel; Louise M Waite; David J Handelsman; Robert G Cumming

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2017.08.018

Total Physical Activity, Exercise Intensity, and Walking Speed as Predictors of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Over 7 Years in Older Men: The Concord Health and Aging in Men Project

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2018 Mar;19(3):216-222. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.08.018. Epub 2017 Oct 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Center of Education and Research on Aging, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; ARC Center of Excellence in Population Aging Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: benjumin.hsu@sydney.edu.au.
² School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Center of Education and Research on Aging, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Center of Education and Research on Aging, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Center of Education and Research on Aging, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; ARC Center of Excellence in Population Aging Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 28993048
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.08.018

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to examine the contemporaneous temporal association between changes in total physical activity, sports intensity, muscle strengthening exercise, and walking speed as predictors of all-cause, cardiovascular, cancer and other cause-specific mortality in older men.

Design, setting, participants, measurements: Community-dwelling men aged 70 years and older from Concord Health and Aging in Men Project were assessed at baseline (2005-2007, n = 1705), 2 years (n = 1367), and 5 years follow-up (n = 958). At all time points, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly questionnaire, walking speed over a 6-m walk, and potential confounders were assessed. Mortality was ascertained through the state death registry with a median follow-up of 7 years.

Results: As the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly score increased by 1 standard deviation over the follow-up period, the relative risk (RR) for mortality was 0.78 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-0.88] for all-cause, 0.66 (95% CI 0.55-0.79) for cardiovascular and 0.75 (95% CI 0.61-0.94) for other cause-specific mortality, but no association was observed in cancer mortality. The RR for undertaking strenuous sports during follow-up was 0.44 (95% CI 0.26-0.72) for all-cause mortality and 0.31 (95% CI 0.13-0.70) for cancer mortality when compared with no sports participation. Increases in walking speed per standard deviation over time were also associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.61-0.78), with similar associations for cardiovascular (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.48-0.74), but not cancer mortality.

Conclusions: Older men who engage in strenuous sports and those who increase their walking speed over time may have lower risk of all-cause and some cause-specific mortality.

Keywords: Physical activity; epidemiology; exercise; mortality; physical performance.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cardiovascular Diseases / mortality
Cause of Death*
Exercise / physiology*
Geriatric Assessment*
Humans
Male
Muscle Strength / physiology
Neoplasms / mortality
Walking Speed / physiology*