Relationship between physical activity and the risk of morbidity of cerebrovascular disease in Sichuan Province: a prospective study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the morbidity of cerebrovascular disease among residents ≥30 years in Pengzhou, Sichuan Province, and analyze the effect of physical activity level on the risk of morbidity of cerebrovascular disease. Methods: From 2004 to 2008, people from Pengzhou, Sichuan Province were randomly selected. All the local people aged 30-79 were asked to receive a questionnaire survey, physical examination, and long-term follow-up to determine the morbidity of cerebrovascular disease. The physical activity level and the morbidity of cerebrovascular disease were described, and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate the association of domain-specific physical activity with the risk of morbidity of cerebrovascular disease. Results: In 55 126 participants, there were 5 290 new cases of cerebrovascular disease, with a cumulative incidence of 9.60%. After the adjustment for multiple confounding factors, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that increased levels of occupational, transportation, and total physical activity reduced the risk of cerebrovascular disease and its subtypes (cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction). The highest group of occupational physical activity level had the lowest risk of cerebrovascular disease, with a hazard ratio (HR) value of 0.81 (95%CI: 0.75-0.88), the highest group of transportation physical activity level had the lowest risk of cerebrovascular disease, with an HR value of 0.84 (95%CI: 0.78-0.91), the highest group of total physical activity level had the lowest risk of cerebrovascular disease, with an HR value of 0.87 (95%CI: 0.80-0.94), compared with the lowest group of corresponding physical activity. No association was found between the household/leisure-time physical activity level and the risk of cerebrovascular disease and its subtypes (cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction). Conclusions: In project areas of Pengzhou, Sichuan Province, increased physical activity has been associated with reduced morbidity of cerebrovascular disease and its subtypes (cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction). Increased levels of physical activity in adults are encouraged for health benefits.