Abstract
Benefit of physical activity in prevention of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is unclear. We aimed to clarify this by studying how different types of physical activity associate with SAH risk. By following 65 521 population-based FINRISK participants prospectively from medical and autopsy registries since 1972 until 2014, we detected 543 incident SAHs. At baseline, we measured leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), occupational physical activity (OPA), and commuting physical activity (CPA) levels. The Cox model adjusted for all well-known SAH risk factors and for socioeconomic status, provided hazard ratios (HRs) for physical activity variables. Every 30-minute increase in weekly LTPA decreased SAH risk linearly in men and women HR = 0.95 (95% CI = 0.90–1.00). CPA reduced SAH risk as well, but the association diminished as participants retired. In contrast, individuals with moderate (1.41, 1.04–1.92) and high OPA (1.34, 0.99–1.81) had elevated SAH risk. Protective association of LTPA persisted in all age and hypertension groups, and was even greater in current smokers 0.88 (0.81–0.96) than non-smokers (p = 0.04 for difference). Commuting and leisure time physical activity seem to reduce SAH risk in men and women and is most beneficial for smokers. Future intervention studies should investigate whether physical activity can reduce the rupture risk of intracranial aneurysms.
Highlights
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has remained a serious disease with a case fatality of approximately 40%1,2
Our aim was to study whether Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), commuting physical activity (CPA), and occupational physical activity (OPA) decrease SAH risk and whether the effects distinct by different types of physical activities
By increasing LTPA by up to 5 hours a week, one could reduce the risk of SAH by 40%
Summary
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) has remained a serious disease with a case fatality of approximately 40%1,2. In development of SAH, lifestyle risk factors play the main role[3]. Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) protects against ischemic stroke[10,11] but only few studies exist on SAH and physical activity[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19] with inconsistent results. A study[19] combining all physical activity types suggested that high overall physical activity elevates SAH risk. The study did not differentiate associations by physical activity type, even though these types may associate differently with cardiovascular diseases[10]. Our aim was to study whether LTPA, commuting physical activity (CPA), and occupational physical activity (OPA) decrease SAH risk and whether the effects distinct by different types of physical activities
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