Men benefit more from midlife leisure-time physical activity than women regarding the development of late-life disability - Results of the KORA-Age study

- Increased physical activity in midlife reduces the risk of disability in the aged.
- We observed a postponed onset of disability for those being active.
- We could not show an effect on the severity of disability.
- A gender-difference in this association was observed: men benefit more than women.

ObjectiveEncouraging physical activity is an important public health measure to reduce disability prevalence in the aged. The aims of this study were to determine the association between midlife physical activity and late-life disability and to investigate gender-specific differences.MethodThis data originates from the KORA-Age cohort, a follow-up in 2008 of the MONICA (Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Diseases)/KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) S1-S4 surveys (1984-2001) situated in Augsburg, a city in Southern Germany. We applied a multivariable hurdle model to investigate the association of physical activity and disability.ResultsWe analysed 3333 persons with a mean follow-up of 18 ± 5.5 years. Using hurdle models, moderate activity and high activity had a protective effect on the occurrence of disability (OR (odds ratio) = 0.80 and 0.73), but not on severity (i.e. number of limitations). We observed a strong gender-specific difference in this association, with men benefitting more from exercise.ConclusionElevated physical activity reduces the risk of becoming disabled and postpones the onset of disability by several years, but we could not show an effect on the severity of disability. In addition, men seem to benefit more from leisure-time physical activity than women.