Long-term intensity and volume of biking, swimming, and tennis: Associations with mortality risk in US older men.

Abstract

To study the association of intensity and volume of individual physical activities with mortality risk among US older males. We prospectively followed 10,218 men in Health Professionals Follow-up Study (2012-2022) who were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline. Intensity of biking, swimming and tennis was assessed using biennial questionnaires and categorized into two intensity groups: low intensity, medium/high intensity. Cumulative averaged physical activity volume was classified based on tertiles: low volume, medium/high volume. We examined joint associations of physical activity intensity and volume with mortality using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % CI. During 89,168 person-years of follow-up (mean [SD] age at baseline, 73.8 [6.9] years [range, 65-102 years]), 2303 deaths were documented. Medium/high intensity performed at medium/high volume was suggestively associated with reduced mortality risk for biking (HR: 0.83 [95 % CI: 0.73, 0.94]), swimming (HR: 0.81 [95 % CI: 0.63, 1.03]), and tennis (HR: 0.83 [95 % CI: 0.65, 1.05]), compared with non-participation in these activities, respectively. Further, specific levels of intensity and volume in biking (medium/high intensity and low volume: HR 0.89 [95 % CI: 0.76, 1.05]), swimming (low intensity and low volume: HR 0.77 [95 % CI: 0.57, 1.06]), and tennis (low intensity and medium/high volume: HR 0.49 [95 % CI: 0.23, 1.01]) were suggestively associated with reduced mortality risk compared with non-participants. Both physical activity intensity and volume inform on mortality risk for biking, tennis and swimming, highlighting the necessity of examining both factors in future research.