Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns in Generally Healthy European Adults Aged 70 Years and Older-Baseline Results From the DO-HEALTH Clinical Trial.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional analysis of baseline observational data from a clinical trial cohort
PubMed 35493350 · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.810725
What was done
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2,155 generally healthy European adults aged ≥70 years (mean age 74.9 years, 61.8% women) enrolled in the DO-HEALTH clinical trial across five countries (Austria, France, Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland). Physical activity (PA) compliance was defined as ≥150 minutes/week of moderate or ≥75 minutes/week of vigorous PA. Sedentary behavior (SB) was defined as ≥5.5 hours/day. Prevalence and multivariable logistic regression correlates were evaluated across demographic and clinical variables.
What was found
Overall, 62.2% of participants met PA recommendations and 37.1% spent ≥5.5 hours/day in SB. Meeting PA recommendations varied substantially by country (Austria: 74.4%, Switzerland: 66.7%, Germany: 65.6%, France: 51.0%, Portugal: 46.5%). In multivariable logistic regression, male sex, younger age (70–74 years), lower MoCA scores, and higher SPPB scores were associated with higher odds of meeting PA recommendations, whereas higher BMI (≥25 kg/m²), more education, higher GDS scores, and residence in Portugal were associated with lower odds. Higher BMI and higher MoCA scores were associated with higher odds of high SB.
Why it matters
These findings characterize baseline activity profiles among relatively healthy older Europeans, highlighting that even in an active clinical trial population, physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are prevalent and disproportionately affect women, older individuals, and those with higher BMI.
Limits
The study is cross-sectional, precluding causal inferences. Activity and sedentary profiles were baseline assessments of voluntary trial participants who were generally healthy, introducing selection bias and limiting generalizability to frailer older adults. Specific measurement methods (e.g., self-report vs. objective accelerometry) and exact odds ratios or confidence intervals were not detailed in the abstract.
Cited by
- context In the DO-HEALTH clinical trial cohort of older adults in Switzerland, approximately 88% of participants self-identified as physically active at baseline.