Women Reap Greater Mortality Benefits from Exercise Than Men - New Study

This study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology investigated the association between physical activity and mortality risk, analyzing data from over 400,000 U.S. adults (men and women). It aimed to see if the health benefits of physical activity differed between the sexes. Women and men both benefited from regular physical activity, but women gained more with similar activity levels. Women achieved the maximum benefit with 140 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous exercise, while men needed 300 minutes/week. This suggests women might see greater health improvements by being active.

Key Findings

Data and Participants:

• The data came from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a large survey conducted by the CDC.

• Researchers included information from almost 650,000 adults over 21 years, ultimately analyzing data from over 412,000 participants.

• The analysis excluded people with certain pre-existing health conditions and those with missing data.

• The study population included a mix of ethnicities and ages (average age 44). Women made up slightly over half (54.7%) of the participants.

Physical Activity and Baseline Characteristics:

• Researchers looked at various physical activity measures, including frequency, duration, and type of activity.

• Men were significantly more likely to engage in regular physical activity compared to women.

• This difference held for all activity types measured (moderate intensity, vigorous intensity, and muscle strengthening).

Mortality Rates and Physical Activity:

• Researchers tracked participants over time to see how many died from any cause (all-cause mortality) or cardiovascular disease.

• Overall, physical activity was associated with a lower risk of death from all causes.

• Interestingly, a sex difference emerged:

  • Women who were regularly active had a 24% lower risk of death compared to inactive women.

  • Men who were regularly active had a 15% lower risk of death compared to inactive men.

  • This difference in benefit between the sexes was statistically significant.

Physical Activity Dose and Mortality:

• Researchers examined how much physical activity was needed to see the greatest mortality reduction.

• For both men and women, the benefit of physical activity increased with the amount of activity performed, up to a certain point.

• However, women achieved a similar level of benefit with less activity compared to men:

  • Men achieved the greatest benefit with 300 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous activity.

  • Women achieved a similar benefit with only 140 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous activity and continued to gain further reductions up to 300 minutes/week.

• Similar patterns were observed for both moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity activity, specifically.

• Muscle strengthening activity also showed a sex difference in benefit. Women seemed to gain a greater reduction in mortality risk compared to men for the same amount of muscle-strengthening activity.

Key Takeaways:

• This study highlights that physical activity is beneficial for both men and women in reducing mortality risk.

• Importantly, women appear to gain a greater mortality benefit from physical activity compared to men, even with lower overall activity levels.

• These findings suggest that women may experience more significant health improvements by being physically active.

• The study emphasizes the importance of encouraging physical activity in both men and women, with tailored recommendations considering potential sex differences in optimal activity level

Physical activity (PA) has long been recognized as a crucial factor in maintaining overall health and reducing the risk of mortality. However, recent research has shed light on significant sex differences in the relationship between PA and mortality risk reduction. In a population-scale, nationally representative cohort study of U.S. adults, substantial evidence has emerged suggesting that these sex differences play a significant role in determining the extent of the benefits derived from leisure-time PA.

Study Overview

The study, conducted on a cohort of 412,413 U.S. adults, aimed to investigate the associations between self-reported leisure-time PA and survival benefits, specifically focusing on differences between men and women. The findings revealed compelling evidence of substantial sex differences in the relationship between PA and mortality risk reduction.

Sex-Specific Benefits of Physical Activity

Peak Survival Benefit

Both men and women achieved a peak survival benefit at 300 minutes of weekly aerobic moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, women derived a 24% mortality reduction, significantly greater than the 18% reduction observed in men from the same level of regular exercise.

Proportionate Benefits

Importantly, women consistently derived proportionately greater benefits than men for any given dose of PA leading up to 300 min/wk. This trend was evident across various measures and types of PA, including frequency, duration per session, and intensity of aerobic PA, as well as the frequency of muscle-strengthening activities.

Cardiovascular-Specific Mortality

The observed sex differences in PA-related survival benefits extended to both all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality. Women exhibited greater gains in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events and overall mortality compared to men.

Potential Explanations

Several factors may contribute to the observed sex differences in PA-related mortality risk reduction:

• Physiological Differences: Men typically have greater exercise capacity than women due to attributes such as larger hearts, wider lung airways, and greater lean body mass. However, women may efficiently improve exercise-induced vasodilatory capacity and muscle strength from PA, leading to proportionately greater benefits.

• Muscle Fiber Composition: Sexual dimorphism in muscle fibre type and function may contribute to differential responses to PA. Women, despite having lower muscle strength at baseline, exhibit greater relative improvements in strength, which is a strong predictor of mortality.

Implications and Recommendations

The findings of this study have significant implications for public health and clinical practice:

• Motivating Engagement: Recognizing the greater mortality risk reduction potential for women, efforts should be made to motivate engagement in PA among currently less active segments of the female population.

• Tailored Recommendations: Current PA guidelines offer sex-agnostic recommendations, but there is a need to consider sex-specific factors in individual risk assessments and exercise prescriptions. This could help in increasing PA engagement, especially among women.

Study Limitations and Conclusions

While the study provides valuable insights into sex differences in PA-associated mortality risk reduction, several limitations must be considered. The reliance on self-reported PA data and the observational nature of the study pose inherent limitations. Additionally, the study focused primarily on leisure-time PA, neglecting other forms of physical activity that may contribute to overall health.

In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of considering sex differences in the relationship between PA and mortality risk reduction. By tailoring interventions and recommendations to account for these differences, significant strides can be made in improving public health outcomes, particularly in reducing cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risks among women

Journal Reference

Ji, H., Gulati, M., Huang, T. Y., Kwan, A. C., Ouyang, D., Cheng, S., Casaletto, K. B., Moreau, K. L., Skali, H., & Cheng, S. (2024, February 1). Sex Differences in the Association of Physical Activity With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.12.019

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https://healthnewstrend.com/can-exercise-reduce-stroke-risk-a-new-study-suggests-it-can

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