Longitudinal association of physical activity and sedentary behavior during leisure time with health-related quality of life in community-dwelling older adults

Prospective cohort study of 1,097 persons aged 62 and over. In 2003 LTPA in MET-hr/week was measured with a validated questionnaire, and LTSB was estimated by the number of sitting hours per week. In 2009 HRQoL was measured with the SF-36 questionnaire. Analyses were done with linear regression and adjusted for the main confounders.Compared with those who did no LTPA, subjects in the upper quartile of LTPA had better scores on the SF-36 scales of physical functioning (β 5.65; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-9.98; p linear trend < 0.001), physical role (β 7.38; 95% CI 0.16-14.93; p linear trend < 0.001), bodily pain (β 6.92; 95% CI 1.86-11.98; p linear trend < 0.01), vitality (β 5.09; 95% CI 0.76-9.41; p linear trend < 0.004) social functioning (β 7.83; 95% CI 2.89-12.75; p linear trend < 0.001), emotional role (β 8.59; 95% CI 1.97-15.21; p linear trend < 0.02) and mental health (β 4.20; 95% CI 0.26-8.13; p linear trend < 0.06). As suggested by previous work in this field, these associations were clinically relevant because the β regression coefficients were higher than 3 points. Finally, the number of sitting hours showed a gradual and inverse relation with the scores on most of the SF-36 scales, which was also clinically relevant.Greater LTPA and less LTSB were independently associated with better long-term HRQoL in older adults.Physical activity reduces the risk of numerous diseases, like ischemic heart disease,[1] stroke,[2] diabetes mellitus[3], and cognitive disorders,[4] as well as total mortality [5]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a global indicator of health resulting from the individual's perception of the impact that diseases exert on different spheres of life (physical, mental and social). Most of the evidence on the relation between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and HRQoL has been obtained in cross-sectional studies in middle-age adults [6,7]. However, little evidence exists in the case of the elderly. This evidence is based on clin