1445Physical activity and long-term mortality risk in Israeli older adults with and without cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Abstract Background Physical activity (PA) is a known protective factor among both general population and cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. Yet, only a few cohort studies assessed the role of PA among older adult populations, characterized by high CVD prevalence rates. Objectives To evaluate the association between PA levels and all-cause mortality among Israeli older adults, and to assess whether it differs by baseline CVD status. Methods Participants were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Older Adults Aged 65+ (“Mabat-Zahav”), conducted by the Israel Center for Disease Control between July 2005 and December 2006. Clinical, behavioral, and psychosocial data were collected via interview at study entry; a detailed PA questionnaire was also administered, through which participants were classified as sufficiently-active, insufficiently-active, and inactive, according to the American College of Sports Medicine classification. Mortality data (last follow-up, December 2016) were obtained from the Israeli Ministry of Health. Inverse probability weighted Cox proportional hazards models, based on propensity score, were constructed to assess the adjusted association between PA categories and mortality. Results Of the 1799 participants (mean [SD] age, 74.6 [6.2] years; 647 [36%] with a history of CVD), 559 (31%) were sufficiently-active, 506 (28%) were insufficiently-active and 734 (41%) were inactive. During a mean follow-up period of 9.0 years, 684 participants (38%) died. PA and mortality demonstrated an inverse dose-response relationship in both CVD and non-CVD groups, with no CVD-by-PA interaction detected on multiplicative-scale (P=0.70) or additive-scale (P=0.58). Notably, inactive non-CVD subjects had comparable risk to CVD patients who were sufficiently active (Figure). Physical activity and mortality Conclusions In a nationally-based cohort of subjects aged 65 years and over, PA was inversely associated with mortality risk. CVD patients who preformed sufficient PA had a comparable mortality risk to inactive subjects free of CVD. These findings illustrate the importance of PA in the older adult population.