Association of Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity Level With Risks of Hospitalization for 25 Common Health Conditions in UK Adults

Abstract

ImportanceHigher physical activity levels are associated with lower risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, but associations with many common and less severe health conditions are not known. These conditions impose large health care burdens and reduce quality of life.ObjectivesTo investigate the association between accelerometer-measured physical activity and the subsequent risk of hospitalization for 25 common reasons for hospitalization and to estimate the proportion of these hospitalizations that might have been prevented if participants had higher levels of physical activity.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prospective cohort study used data from a subset of 81 717 UK Biobank participants aged 42 to 78 years. Participants wore an accelerometer for 1 week (between June 1, 2013, and December 23, 2015) and were followed up over a median (IQR) of 6.8 (6.2-7.3) years; follow-up for the current study ended in 2021 (exact date varied by location).ExposuresMean total and intensity-specific accelerometer-measured physical activity.Main Outcomes and MeasuresHospitalization for the most common health conditions. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for mean accelerometer-measured physical activity (per 1-SD increment) and risks of hospitalization for 25 conditions. Population-attributable risks were used to estimate the proportion of hospitalizations for each condition that might be prevented if participants increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by 20 minutes per day.ResultsAmong 81 717 participants, the mean (SD) age at accelerometer assessment was 61.5 (7.9) years; 56.4% were female, and 97.0% self-identified as White. Higher levels of accelerometer-measured physical activity were associated with lower risks of hospitalization for 9 conditions: gallbladder disease (HR per 1 SD, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.69-0.79), urinary tract infections (HR per 1 SD, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.69-0.84), diabetes (HR per 1 SD, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.74-0.84), venous thromboembolism (HR per 1 SD, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.75-0.90), pneumonia (HR per 1 SD, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.77-0.89), ischemic stroke (HR per 1 SD, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.95), iron deficiency anemia (HR per 1 SD, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.98), diverticular disease (HR per 1 SD, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.90-0.99), and colon polyps (HR per 1 SD, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99). Positive associations were observed between overall physical activity and carpal tunnel syndrome (HR per 1 SD, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.18-1.40), osteoarthritis (HR per 1 SD, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.19), and inguinal hernia (HR per 1 SD, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07-1.19), which were primarily induced by light physical activity. Increasing MVPA by 20 minutes per day was associated with reductions in hospitalization ranging from 3.8% (95% CI, 1.8%-5.7%) for colon polyps to 23.0% (95% CI, 17.1%-28.9%) for diabetes.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study of UK Biobank participants, those with higher physical activity levels had lower risks of hospitalization across a broad range of health conditions. These findings suggest that aiming to increase MVPA by 20 minutes per day may be a useful nonpharmaceutical intervention to reduce health care burdens and improve quality of life.

Wearable Devices to Improve Physical Activity and Reduce Sedentary Behaviour: An Umbrella Review

“…In addition, the NAVIGATOR study [ 94 ], which includes 9,000 individuals with high cardiovascular risk or impaired glucose tolerance, showed that for every increase of 2000 steps per day, the risk of developing cardiovascular problems decreased by 10%, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by 5.5%, and the metabolic syndrome risk score was reduced by 0.29 [ 94 – 96 ]. A recent large cohort study on 81,717 participants showed that an increase of 20 min in daily MVPA is associated with a reduction in hospitalization ranging from 3.8% for colon polyps, 14.1% for pneumonia, 19.8% for gallbladder disease, 22.7% for urinary tract infection, and 23% for diabetes [ 97 ]…”

Impact of automated data flow and reminders on adherence and resource utilization for remotely monitoring physical activity in individuals with stroke or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…Physical activity is one important aspect of function targeted during rehabilitation due to its association with hospital admission (8), risk of stroke (9), development of cardiovascular diseases (10,11), and mortality (12)(13)(14). Physical activity is easily measured using wearable devices (e.g., Fitbits); however, clinical utility is limited by the time required to set up the device, download and analyze data, and synthesize, document, and discuss the results (2,5,(15)(16)(17).…”