Physical Activity and Residual-Specific Mortality among Adults in the United States.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical activity and residual-specific mortality (deaths not from the major nine causes of death) among a national sample of adults in the United States, which has yet to be investigated. Data from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed, with 16,329 participants constituting the analytical sample. Participants were followed through 2011, including a median follow-up of 101 months. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed via self-report and accelerometry. After adjusting for age, gender, race-ethnicity, blood pressure, and other covariates, participants who self-reported meeting physical activity guidelines (≥2000 MET·min·month) had a 33% reduced risk for residual-specific mortality (HR = 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.85; P = 0.001). With regard to accelerometry-assessed MVPA, for every 30 min·d increase in MVPA, participants had a 53% reduced hazard of residual-specific mortality (HR = 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.84; P = 0.01; N = 7739). The major finding of this study was that physical activity was inversely associated with residual-specific mortality risk.