Association between Light Intensity Physical Activity and All-cause Mortality in Older Adults with Physical Disability

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association between light intensity physical activity (LPA) and all-cause mortality in older adults with physical disability.METHODS: Data from the 2008 Living Profiles of Older People Survey involving 14,367 Korean adults aged ≥60 years (13,417 without disabilities and 950 with disabilities) were used. Participants were divided into active and inactive groups based on weekly LPA and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA). Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to calculate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), according to disability status and physical activity levels.RESULTS: During 3.3±0.4 years follow-up period, 1,024 deaths occurred from all causes. Among non-disabled people, the inactive group showed a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR=1.282, 95% CI=1.122–1.465, p<.001) than the active group (reference= 1) in LPA. Similarly, for MVPA, the risk of all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the inactive group (HR=1.522, 95% CI=1.230–1.882, p<.001) than in the active group (reference=1). However, among physically disabled people, the inactive group correspondingly showed a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR=2.735, 95% CI=1.761–4.246, p<.001) than the active group, while there was no significant difference between both groups in MVPA.CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest that promoting LPA may play an important role in preventing premature death from allcause mortality in older adults with physical disability.