A new link between physical activity and hospitalization risk

Key messages

More intense levels of physical activity could prevent hospitalization for 25 common ailments.
• 20 minutes of daily physical activity could be a useful non-pharmacological intervention to prevent hospitalizations and improve the patient’s quality of life.

Why it matters

• Physical activity is usually associated with a decreased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.However, there are no known associations with less serious physical and health conditions that can lead to hospitalization, therefore to health burdens and a reduction in the quality of life.
• We looked at 25 common disorders leading to hospitalization that had not yet been analyzed in association with physical activity levels.

How the study was conducted

• Using an accelerometer, i.e. an instrument that measures the frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity, daily activity in its entirety, including occasional and/or unstructured activity, contributing to total energy expenditure, was recorded.
• The cohort study analyzed accelerometer data from 81,717 members of the UK Biobank cohort study aged 42 to 78 years. The study, which ended 2021, collected data from participants for one week (between June 1, 2013 and December 23, 2015), monitored for a median (IQR) of 6.8 years.Follow-up ended in 2021.
• The average age of the participants was 61.5 years: more than half were women (56.4%) and almost all declared themselves white (97%).

Main results

• Implementing moderate to vigorous daily physical activity for 20 minutes a day could reduce the risk of hospitalization for secondary and common conditions.
• High levels of activity measured by the accelerometer were associated with a lower risk of hospitalization for 9 of the 25 conditions examined: gallbladder disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes, venous thromboembolism, pneumonia, ischemic stroke, iron deficiency anemia, diverticular disease and colon polyps.
• In general, positive associations were observed between vigorous physical activity and a wide range of conditions determining hospitalization.

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Source — https://www.univadis.it/viewarticle/un-nuovo-legame-fra-l-attivit%25C3%25A0-fisica-e-il-rischio-di-2023a10003kq