Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Health-related Quality of Life as Predictors of Mortality in U.S. Adults

Peter D. Hart^1,

¹Health Promotion Research, Havre, MT 59501

Cite this paper

Peter D. Hart. Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Health-related Quality of Life as Predictors of Mortality in U.S. Adults. American Journal of Public Health Research. 2019; 7(6):197-202. doi: 10.12691/AJPHR-7-6-2

Abstract

Background: Few national-level studies have examined the effects of both physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) on mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of PA and HRQOL to predict all-cause mortality in U.S. adults. Methods: Data for this research came from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and its 2011 mortality-linked National Death Index (NDI) file. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, min/day) was objectively determined by accelerometry and participants were categorized into low or high groups using the median. HRQOL was assessed by a single question asking participants to rate their general health. Participants rating their health as “good”, “very good”, or “excellent” were considered to have good HRQOL whereas those rating it “fair” or “poor” were considered to have poor HRQOL. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to determine the independent effects of MVPA and HRQOL on all-cause mortality while controlling for covariates. Results: In the fully adjusted females model, participants were at greater risk of mortality if they engaged in low amounts of MVPA (Hazard Ratio (HR)=2.82, 95% CI: 1.02-7.85) and had poor HRQOL (HR=7.19, 95% CI: 2.30-22.51) with no significant (p=.133) MVPA-by-HRQOL interaction. Conversely, the equivalent males model saw a significant (p=.002) MVPA-by-HRQOL interaction, resulting in an analysis of simple effects. In the fully adjusted males with good HRQOL model, participants were at greater risk of mortality if they engaged in low amounts of MVPA (HR=2.92, 95% CI: 1.56-5.49). However, in the males with poor HRQOL model, MVPA could not significantly predict mortality (HR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.49-2.24). Conclusion: Results from this study indicate that MVPA and HRQOL independently predict all-cause mortality in U.S. female adults. In U.S. male adults, MVPA predicts all-cause mortality only in those with good HRQOL.

Keywords

physical activity, Accelerometry, Health-related quality of life (HRQOL), Mortality

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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