Daily steps and diet, but not sleep, are related to mortality in older Australians. Issue 3 (March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oftedal, Stina; Holliday, Elizabeth G.; Attia, John; Brown, Wendy J.; Collins, Clare E.; Ewald, Benjamin; Glozier, Nicholas; McEvoy, Mark; Morgan, Philip J.; Plotnikoff, Ronald C.; Stamatakis, Emmanuel; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Duncan, Mitch J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of science and medicine in sport. Volume 23:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 276
• Page End: 282
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Subjects: Ageing -- Physical activity -- Nutrition -- Mortality -- Insomnia; Sports sciences -- Periodicals; Sports medicine -- Periodicals; Exercise -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Sports -- physiology -- Periodicals; Sports Medicine -- Periodicals; Sportgeneeskunde; 617.102705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2019.09.018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1440-2440

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: Supporting healthy ageing is a key priority worldwide. Physical activity, diet quality and sleep are all associated with health outcomes, but few studies have explored their independent associations with all-cause mortality in an older population in the same model. The study aim was to examine associations between step-count, self-reported diet quality, restless sleep, and all-cause mortality in adults aged 55–85 years. Design: A prospective cohort study of adults in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Method: Data were from 1697 participants (49.3% women; baseline mean age 65.4 ± 7.1 years). Daily steps (measured by pedometer), diet quality (from a modified Australian Recommended Food Score), and frequency of restless sleep (by self-report) were assessed in relation to all-cause mortality using Cox proportional hazard regression with adjustment for sex, age, household income and smoking. Baseline data were collected between January 2005 and April 2008, and last follow-up was in March 2017 (median follow-up 9.6 years). Results: Higher step count (HR: 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88–0.98 per 1000-step increment) and higher diet quality (HR: 0.86, 95%CI: 0.74–0.99 per 8-point increment in diet quality score) were associated with reduced mortality risk. Restless sleep for ≥3 nights/week was not associated with mortality risk (HR: 1.03, 95%CI: 0.78–1.39). Sensitivity analyses, adjusting for chronic disease and excluding deaths <1 year after baseline, did not change these estimates. Conclusions: Increased daily steps and consumption of a greater variety of nutrient-dense foods every week would result in substantial health benefits for older people. Future research should include a greater variety of sleep measures.