Increased daily steps associated with reduced all-cause mortality

Reference

Saint-Maurice PF, Troiano RP, Bassett Jr DR, et al. Association of daily step count and step intensity with mortality among US adults. JAMA 2020;323(12):1151-1160.

Synopsis

These investigators reviewed data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) focusing on participants who were asked to wear a hip accelerometer during waking hours for a 7-day period from 2003 to 2006. Individuals with at least 1 day of valid wear (at least 10 hours) were included. Additional data collection included demographic information (eg, age, gender, education), smoking status, alcohol intake, and diagnoses of chronic medical conditions (eg, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic bronchitis). In addition to counting steps, step intensity was estimated based on extended bouts of stepping and peak 1-minute and 30-minute cadences. Assessments of mortality occurred via the US National Death Index. Participants (N = 4840) took a mean of 9124 steps per day. The incidence of all-cause mortality was 76.7 per 1000 person-years for individuals who took fewer than 4000 steps per day; 21.4 per 1000 person-years for individuals who took 4000 to 7999 steps per day; 6.9 per 1000 person-years for the individuals who took 8000 to 11,999 steps per day; and 4.8 per 1000 person-years for individuals who took at least 12,000 steps per day. After controlling for total steps per day, greater step intensity was not significantly associated with lower mortality.