Sedentary time has greatest adverse impact among adults ≥50 years with highest frailty level
MONDAY, Aug. 21, 2017 (HealthDay News) — The association between sedentary time and mortality varies with level of frailty among adults aged 50 years and older, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
Using data from 3,141 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older, Olga Theou, Ph.D., from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and colleagues examined the correlation between sedentary behaviors, measured using uniaxial accelerometers, and frailty, which was based on a 46-item frailty index.
The researchers found that sedentary time was not predictive of mortality for people with low levels of frailty (frailty index score ≤ 0.1), regardless of physical activity level (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.90; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.70 to 1.15). Sedentary time was associated with higher mortality among people who were vulnerable (0.1 < frailty index score ≤ 0.2) or frail (frailty index score > 0.2), only for those who were physically inactive (hazard ratio, 1.16 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.33] for those with 0.1 < frailty index score ≤ 0.2; hazard ratio, 1.27 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.46] for 0.2 < frailty index score ≤ 0.3; and hazard ratio, 1.34 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.19 to 1.50] for frailty index score > 0.3).
“The effect of sedentary behaviors on mortality varied by level of frailty,” the authors write. “Adults with the highest frailty level experienced the greatest adverse impact.”
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and nutrition industries.
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