Higher step counts may result in lower risk of adverse outcomes

1. A nonlinear dose-response association was observed between step count and all cause death and cardiovascular disease.

2. A 1000 step increment of steps per day was associated with a 23% decreased risk of all-cause mortality. For every 500 steps increased per day, the risk of cardiovascular disease was 6% lower.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Walking is a well-known sustainable form of physical activity that can be performed anywhere. Society has touted a goal of 10,000 steps per day as being ideal for health but there is little evidence to support this claim. Most studies associated with walking and life expectancy use self-declared indicators of daily steps and walking time and are therefore inadequate. As a result, the present meta-analysis sought to study the dose-response relationship between step count and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease.

Of 9673 identified studies, 16 were included from database inception to July 2021. Studies were included if they had a prospective design or a clinical trial and evaluated the influence of daily step count on at least one outcome of: all-cause mortality or cardiovascular disease (death, coronary heart disease or stroke). Studies were excluded if participants were not recruited from the general population in good health. Quality assessment was done following the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment scale.

Results demonstrated a nonlinear dose-response association between step count and all cause death and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a 1,000 step increment of steps per day was associated with a 23% decreased risk of all-cause mortality. For every 500 steps increased per day, the risk of cardiovascular disease was 6% lower. However, the present study was limited by its generalizability due to a sample size comprised primarily of adults with higher socioeconomic status. Despite this, the quality of the results were high due to the measurement of step count by wearable devices and the inclusion of prospective designs/clinical trials. This study overall was significant in suggesting the value of walking on all-cause mortality and cardiovascular health.

Click to read the study in Journal of Sport and Health Science

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