Abstract
BackgroundPhysical inactivity and air pollution are two major public health challenges worldwide. Given that physical activity (PA) increases ventilation rate, the increased intake of air pollutants may exacerbate the adverse health effects of air pollution. We investigated the combined effects of long-term exposure to fine particle matter (PM2.5) and PA on mortality in Taiwan.Methods We included 384,130 adults (≥18 years) with 842,394 medical measurements from 2001 to 2016. The participants were then followed up until May 31, 2019. The vital data was from the National Death Registry maintained by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. Ambient PM2.5 exposure was estimated using a satellite-based spatiotemporal model. We used Cox regression model with time-dependent covariates to investigate the main and combined effects of PM2.5 and PA on all-natural cause mortality.ResultsWe observed that the risk of death decreased 11% [hazard risk (HR) is 0.89 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.88−0.91] for each 10 MET-h increase in PA, while the risk increased 20% [HR (95%CI): 1.20 (1.15−1.25)] for each 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5. We found that active participants had a slightly higher risk of death due to PM2.5, although the overall combined effects of PA and PM2.5 were not significant [HR (95%CI) is 1.00 (0.98−1.02)].ConclusionsPA was associated with lower risk of mortality, whilst PM2.5 was associated with a higher risk. PA may amplify detrimental effects of PM2.5 during exercise. We suggest that people could exercise in highly polluted regions, but they should reduce air pollution exposure during exercise to minimise PM2.5 effects.
Published Version
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