Moderate, high levels of occupational and leisure-time physical activity may reduce risk
TUESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Engaging in moderate or high levels of occupational or leisure-time physical activity may reduce the risk of heart failure among both men and women, according to a study in the Sept. 28 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
To assess the association between different levels of physical activity and risk of heart failure, Yujie Wang, of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., and colleagues evaluated 28,334 Finnish men and 29,874 women, aged 25 to 74 years, who were free of heart failure at baseline.
The investigators found that heart failure developed in 1,868 men and 1,640 women during a mean follow-up of 18.4 years. Multivariate adjusted hazard ratios of heart failure related to light, moderate, and active occupational activity were 1.00, 0.90, and 0.83 for men and 1.00, 0.80, and 0.92 for women, respectively. The hazard ratios of heart failure linked to low, moderate, and high leisure-time physical activity were 1.00, 0.83, and 0.65 for men and 1.00, 0.84, and 0.75 for women, respectively. Prior to adjustment for occupational and leisure-time physical activity, active commuting had a significant inverse association with heart failure risk in women but not in men. Participation in more than one type of physical activity showed a stronger protective effect compared to participation in one type of physical activity.
"Moderate and high levels of occupational or leisure-time physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of heart failure in both sexes," the authors write.
Abstract
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