Step Count Inversely Linked to All-Cause, Cardiovascular Mortality

THURSDAY, Aug. 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- There is a significant inverse association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality, according to a review published online Aug. 8 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Maciej Banach, M.D., Ph.D., from the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine the association between step count and all-cause mortality and CV mortality. The meta-analysis included data from 17 cohort studies with 226,889 participants with a median follow-up of 7.1 years.

The researchers found that a 1,000-step increment was associated with a significantly reduced risk for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 0.85) and a 500-step increment was associated with a decrease in CV mortality (hazard ratio, 0.93). Quartiles 1, 2, and 3 with a median of 5,537; 7,370; and 11,529 steps, respectively, compared with the reference quartile with a median of 3,967 steps/day, were associated with a lower risk for all-cause mortality (47, 55, and 67 percent, respectively). Compared with the lowest quartile steps/day (median 2,337), there was a linear association seen for higher quartiles of steps/day (3,982; 6,661; and 10,413, respectively) with a reduced risk for CV mortality (16, 49, and 77 percent, respectively). A nonlinear dose-response association was seen between step count and all-cause and CV mortality using a restricted splines model, with a progressively lower mortality risk seen with increased step count.

"Our results may be used to promote public awareness of the importance of physical activity, particularly in the easily implementable activity of walking," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and technology industries.

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