The combined association of physical activity and alcohol use with long-term mortality

A research team in China investigated the combined association of physical activity (PA) and alcohol use (AU) with long-term mortality.
12,621 participants aged ≥ 20 years were enrolled from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004). The study population was divided into young (< 60 years, N = 8,258) and old (≥ 60 years, N = 4,363) groups. The median follow-up time was 203 months.
In both the young and old groups, sedentary lifestyle combined with even minimal AU were associated with elevated risk of death. In the young group, the integration of high volume AU with any degree of PA, including sedentary PA (HR = 2.35, 95% CI 1.24-4.44), low PA (HR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.01-2.68, P = 0.047), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (HR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.03-3.84), was associated with an increased risk of mortality. This relationship persisted as significant after adjusting for potential confounders. In the old group, combining moderate-to-vigorous PA and low volume AU (HR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.37-0.94, P = 0.027) was associated with a reduction in mortality. After adjustment, the combination of moderate-to-vigorous PA and low volume AU was independently associated with favourable prognostic outcomes.
In both age groups, combining sedentary lifestyle with even minimal AU was a risk factor for death. In young group, combining any level of PA with high volume AU was associated with increased mortality. In old group, combining moderate-to-vigorous PA with low volume AU was related to reduced mortality.
Source: Fu B, Yu Y, Cheng S, Huang H, Long T, Yang J, Cai C, Gu M, Niu H and Hua W (2024) The combined association of physical activity and alcohol use with long-term mortality: an age-stratified analysis. BMC Public Health 8;24(1):1817