Long-term physical activity patterns and lung function decline during adulthood: The Doetinchem cohort study

Background: Regular physical activity may improve lung health among adults. Since life styles are subject to change, the role of physical activity on lung function decline is ideally determined based on patterns of long-term physical activity levels. The objective of this study was to investigate th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aging and physical activity 2012-08, Vol.20, p.S315-S316
Main Authors: van Oostrom, SH, Picavet, HSJ, Heederik, DJJ, Verschuren, WMM, Wouters, I M, Smit, HA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Analysis
Evaluation
Exercise
Health
Lungs
Sex education
Smoking
Women
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Regular physical activity may improve lung health among adults. Since life styles are subject to change, the role of physical activity on lung function decline is ideally determined based on patterns of long-term physical activity levels. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between 10-year physical activity patterns and lung function decline. Methods: Men and women aged 26-70 years in the prospective Doetinchem Cohort Study were examined every five years. Data of three examination rounds (between 1995 and 2009) were used for current analyses. Being physically active was defined as spending 3.5 hours or more per week on physical activities of at least moderate intensity. Participants (N = 3452) were categorized as being persistently active, persistently inactive, becoming active, becoming inactive, and having a variable activity pattern. Associations between 10-year physical activity patterns and decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) over 10 years were determined by linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, length squared, sex, education, smoking and change in BMI over 10 years, and baseline FEV1. Results: Preliminary analyses showed that FEV1 in adults who became physically active declined 29 (95% CI 1 - 57) ml less over 10 years than FEV1 of adults who became inactive. Sensitivity analyses restricting analysis to those participants with constant smoking behaviour (persistent smokers and persistent non-smokers (N = 3002)) showed that 10-year FEV1 decline was less in adults who became active compared to those who became inactive (mean difference 34 (95% CI 7 - 61) ml, 43 (95% CI 13 - 72) ml, respectively). Being persistently physically active was not associated with a smaller decline in FEV1 over 10 years. Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that changes in long-term physical activity patterns affect lung function decline.
ISSN:1063-8652