Contribution of Physical Activity to the Life's Simple 7 Metric in Older Rural Adults

摘要

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine specifically the contribution of physical activity (PA) to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) metric and its relationship to health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods: Data for this study came from a large national survey conducted in 2015. A total of N=46,498 adults 50+ years of age and residing in a rural U.S. county were included. A modified LS7 metric was assessed to include: 1) not smoking within past year, 2) BMI less than 25, 3) consumption of 5+ fruits and vegetables per day, 4) obtaining 150+ minutes of moderate PA per week, and not being diagnosed with 5) high cholesterol, 6) hypertension, or 7) diabetes. One set of analyses were performed with those meeting the PA metric excluded and one set with those meeting the PA metric included. Multiple logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) while adjusting for age, sex, race, and income. Results: Prevalence of good HRQOL increased linearly (59.0%, 68.9%, 75.1%, 80.4%, 84.2%, 89.6%, & 90.0%, p<.001) across adult groups meeting 0 to 6 LS7 metrics, respectively. Adjusted models with those meeting PA excluded showed increased odds of reporting good HRQOL in adults meeting 1 (OR=2.16; 95% CI: 1.74-2.67), 2 (2.40; 2.01-2.88), 3 (2.61; 2.13-3.21), 4 (3.08; 2.32-4.08), and 5+ (4.56; 2.67-7.78) LS7 metrics. Adjusted models with those meeting PA included showed mostly greater odds of reporting good HRQOL in adults meeting 1 (1.71; 1.55-1.87), 2 (3.78; 3.03-4.73), 3 (4.69; 3.72-5.93), 4 (6.66; 5.01-8.86), and 5+ (6.76; 5.22-8.74) LS7 metrics. Conclusions: Results from this study show that the LS7 metric is a stronger predictor of HRQOL when PA is met in older rural U.S. adults. Health promotion programs should emphasize the importance of PA to the LS7 metric.