Socioeconomic status may influence the association between physical activity and health outcomes

1. In this prospective study, lower socioeconomic status (SES) led to a stronger inverse association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and outcomes such as all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

2. However, the effect of SES on the association between low MVPA and health outcomes was more prominent based on area-level SES, rather than individual-level SES.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Socioeconomic (SES) status plays an important role in health behaviors, and it is well known that those of low SES experience poorer health outcomes. However, the role that SES plays on physical activity, and outcomes related to physical activity and sedentary behavior, is not well established. As a result, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of SES on the relationship between low moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and both all-cause mortality (ACM) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD).

In this prospective study, 328,228 participants aged 40 to 69 years from the UK Biobank were included from 2006-2010. Participants were excluded if they had missing SES information, poor self-rated health, prevalent CVD, or an event (death or CVD event) within 2 years of recruitment. Self-reported questionnaires and accelerometer-measured data were used. An individual-level composite SES index was used to determine SES, while the Townsend Index was used to determine area-level SES. Data analysis was performed using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression. The primary outcomes were ACM and incident CVD.

The results demonstrated that a lower SES led to a stronger inverse association between MVPA and both ACM and CVD. Additionally, the negative effects of high screen time and low MVPA on ACM and CVD were more prominent in areas of lower SES. However, the effect of SES on the association between MVPA and health outcomes was more prominent based on area-level SES, rather than individual-level SES. The study was limited by the use of self-reporting, which may have introduced recall bias. Nonetheless, the present study described the impact that SES has on the relationship between MVPA and ACM and incident CVD.

Click to read the study in British Journal of Sports Medicine

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