JAMA, a journal of the American Medical Association, published the Association of Leisure Time Physical Activity Types and Risks of All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality Among Older Adults yesterday (2022-8-24).
There are 10 authors in this article, and their working units are the National Cancer Institute and the National Aging Institute.
Research engine: People with more movements have lower risk of death. One included a total prospective analytical estimate of over 660,000 participants, with a 31% reduction in mortality risk compared to those who did not. (Note: MET is a metabolic equivalent of task, translated into "representative quantity", which is the unit that calculates activity volume. 1 MET is the energy consumed during rest, and walking at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour is about 4 MET. Please see Wikipedia)
Although there is strong evidence that exercise can prolong life, it is unclear whether different activities types (such as running and riding) have different risks of death and whether there are different benefits. The different associations of activity types and death risk can provide a thread about physiological adaptation changes in granting longevity; for example, elite running is associated with increased early relief filling compared to swimmers, and swimmers have higher lung function than other sportsmen.
Previous prospective studies examining different types of activities were based on young people, but were not sufficient to evaluate dose response associations, and these associations may not be able to be extended to older people. In addition, some studies have reported the potential harms of high-level sporting activities related to certain endurance exercises. There is reason to believe that very high levels of physical activity may be more likely to harm the elderly. The number of people participating in activities such as marathons is increasing, and the age of participants is also taking on aging. Our aim was to compare comparable levels of death risk estimates involving different types of leisure time sports and to investigate the shape of dose responses.
Research subjects: There were 272,550 participants, ranging from 59 to 82 years (71 on average), of which 58% were male. They completed the questionnaire between 2004 and 2005, providing data on the type of movement and weekly duration. Sports types include running, riding, swimming, aerobics, racket sports, golf and walking exercises. (Note: Racket sports include tennis, squash, and racquetball). A total of 118,153 people (43%) died during the visit period of an average of 12.4 years.
Result: Those who did 7.5 to 15 MET hours of the following exercises per week, all-cause death risk decreased compared to those who did not participate in the activity:
Racket exercise: 16%Running: 15%
Walking: 9%
Aerobic exercise: 7%
Golf: 7%
Swimming: 5%
Riding cycling: 3%
Each exercise shows a curve dose response related to death risk; for any sports type, weekly low MET hours are related to a significant reduction in death risk, and the responses obtained by subsequent MET increase will gradually decrease. The correlation between cardiovascular and cancer mortality was similar to that of all-cause mortality.
Discussion: The risk of mortality reduction in running and racket exercises is greater than that of other activity types, which may be related to the specific physiological needs and suitability of these movements. These activities require synchronous movements of many muscles to maintain correct posture, while racket exercises also require hand-eye coordination and very high-strength intermittent explosions, which may further improve body function. This combination of action types is in line with the American guide to physical activity, which recommends that older people conduct multiple sets of physical activity, including balanced training and aerobic and muscle strengthening activities.
Original text: The relationship between the sports type of senior and the risk of death