Ten-year mortality among older male recreational endurance athletes in the Birkebeiner Aging Study in comparison with older men from the Tromsø Study.
Scand J Med Sci Sports
; 33(8): 1541-1551, 2023 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37161736
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Physical activity (PA) is associated with reduced mortality. However, whether there is an added benefit of long-term endurance training is unclear. Thus, we aimed to examine 10-year mortality in older male endurance athletes compared with an older male general population.METHOD:
Male athletes (n = 503) participating in an annual long-distance ski race (median years of participation 14, range 1-53) from the Norwegian Birkebeiner Aging study (BiAS), and non-athletic men (n = 1867) attending the sixth Tromsø Study (Tromsø6) aged ≥65 years were included. Associations with endurance sport practice and joint exposures of endurance sport practice and self-reported leisure-time PA with all-cause mortality were examined. We analyzed the data with Cox proportional hazard models and regression standardization.RESULTS:
After 10 years (median 10.4, range 0.5-11.1) the mortality rate was lower in athletes (hazard ratio (HR) 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-0.49) compared with non-athletes, corresponding to a 15% (95% CI 12-19%) absolute risk reduction associated with endurance sport practice. In joint analyses categorized according to PA and endurance sport practice, we observed an inverse dose-response relationship with mortality (p < 0.001). Compared to inactive non-athletes, PA was associated with lower mortality in both active non-athletes and athletes. However, the observed benefit among participants reporting moderate-to-vigorous PA was larger in athletes (HR 0.21, 95% CI 0.14-0.32) than non-athletes (HR 0.43, 95% CI 0.31-0.59) (p < 0.01).CONCLUSION:
Endurance sport practice was associated with reduced 10-year mortality, beyond the effect of PA in older men. This study suggests that long-term endurance sport practice maintained into older adulthood promotes longevity.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Esportes
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Treino Aeróbico
Limite:
Aged
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Scand J Med Sci Sports
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA ESPORTIVA
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Noruega