Physical activity reduces cardiovascular risk and mortality in people with severe mental illness: a cohort study using accelerometry

Abstract

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of excess mortality in people with severe mental illness (SMI). Physical activity (PA) is widely acknowledged with multiple health benefits, but associations of PA with incident CVD, all-cause and CVD mortality in people with SMI remain unclear.

Objectives

To determine dose-response and intensity-specific associations of PA with incident CVD, all-cause and CVD mortality in people with SMI.

Methods

This prospective cohort study was conducted on 6313 SMI participants with accelerometry data from UK Biobank (mean age 61.05 years) from February 2013 to November 2021 (median 7-year follow-up). Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was categorized by meeting the guideline level or not, while total PA and light-intensity PA (LPA) were grouped by tertiles. Incident CVD, all-cause and CVD mortality ascertained by hospital and death registries were main outcomes.

Results

PA was inversely associated with the risk for incident CVD (P_overall < 0.05 for total PA and MVPA, P_nonlinearity > 0.05 for all PA), all-cause mortality (P_overall < 0.05 for all PA, P_nonlinearity < 0.05 for total PA and LPA), and CVD mortality (P_overall < 0.001 for total PA and LPA, P_nonlinearity < 0.05 for all PA). Performing guideline-recommended volume of MVPA was associated with a reduced risk of 19% for incident CVD (95% CI, 0.67-0.98), 42% for all-cause mortality (95% CI, 0.43-0.79), and 50% for CVD mortality (95% CI, 0.31-0.82). A combination of recommended MVPA and a moderate volume of LPA was associated with the lowest risk, mitigating 21% risk for incident CVD, 59% for all-cause mortality, and 78% for CVD mortality.

Conclusions

Primary engagement of guideline-recommended MVPA, supplemented with moderate amount of LPA, was associated with lower risks for incident CVD, all-cause and CVD mortality among people with SMI.

Acknowledgements

This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource under Application Number 58082.

Funding Support

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 32100880), Guangzhou Municipal Key Discipline in Medicine (2021-2023), Guangzhou High-level Clinical Key Specialty, and Guangzhou Research-oriented Hospital. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared