Sedentary lifestyle for 20 years linked to doubled mortality risk compared to being active

Two decades of a sedentary lifestyle is associated with a two times risk of premature death compared to being physically active, according to findings presented at ESC Congress 2019 together with the World Congress of Cardiology.
The study assessed how changes in physical activity over 22 years were related to subsequent death from all causes and from cardiovascular disease. The HUNT study invited all residents of Norway aged 20 and older to participate in 1984– 1986, 1995–1997, and 2006–2008. At all three time points, individuals were asked about their frequency and duration of leisure time physical activity. The current study used the data from the first and third surveys.
A total of 23,146 men and women were included in the analysis. Physical activity was categorised as inactive, moderate (less than two hours a week), and high (two or more hours per week). Participants were divided into groups according to their activity levels at each survey.
Physical activity data were linked to information on deaths until the end of 2013 using the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. The risk of death in each physical activity group was compared to the reference group (those who reported a high level of exercise during both surveys). The analyses were adjusted for factors known to influence prognosis such as body mass index, age, sex, smoking, education level, and blood pressure.
Compared to the reference group, people who were inactive in both 1984–1986 and 2006– 2008 had a 2-fold higher likelihood of all-cause death and 2.7-fold greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Those with moderate activity at both time points had 60% and 90% raised risks of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths, respectively, compared to the reference group.
Study author Dr Trine Moholdt of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway said: “Our findings imply that to get the maximum health benefits of physical activity in terms of protection against premature all-cause and cardiovascular death, you need to continue being physically active. You can also reduce your risk by taking up physical activity later in life, even if you have not been active before.”
Dr Moholdt noted that there are clear recommendations about the amount of exercise adults should do to optimise their health, which are 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity. But she added that physical activity levels even below the advised levels will
give health benefits.