Frequent Walking Tied to Lower CVD Risk in Seniors Above 80

TOPLINE:

In older adults initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD), each additional 10 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity walking events was associated with a reduced risk for CVD. In those aged 80 years or older, frequent light physical activity walking bouts also provided significant protection.

METHODOLOGY:

• Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (three or more metabolic equivalents) has been known to reduce the risk for CVD in older adults; however, the influence of different activity patterns and age-related differences remain unclear.
• Researchers analysed data from a Swedish cohort study and included 423 participants aged either 66 years or 80 years or older (67.4% women) without any CVD.
• Thigh-worn accelerometers were used to measure physical activity such as steps per day, sit-to-stand transitions, daily time in light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and walking events.
• Walking events were identified as continuous walking bouts (excluding standing), with less than 100 steps per minute being classified as light and 100 or more steps per minute being classified as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
• The primary outcome was the incidence of both fatal and non-fatal CVD events, tracked over a mean follow-up duration of 5.6 years.

TAKEAWAY:

• The participants took an average of 9276 steps per day and engaged in 35.5 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day; 30% of participants experienced at least one CVD event during the follow-up period.
• Overall, each additional 10 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity walking events was associated with a 10% reduced risk for CVD (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.90; P = .019).
• Among participants aged 80 years or older, the risk for CVD reduced by 39% for each additional 100 light physical activity walking events and by 13% for each additional 10 moderate-to-vigorous physical activity walking events (P < .05 for both).
• No clear associations between physical activity patterns and the risk for CVD were observed among younger-old adults (66 years).

IN PRACTICE:

“Our findings suggest that the daily frequency of PA [physical activity] events, alongside adherence to international MVPA [moderate-to-vigorous PA] recommendations (≥ 150-300 minutes per week), may offer added benefits in mitigating CVD risk,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Caroline Lager, PhD student, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. It was published online on July 12, 2025, in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

LIMITATIONS:

Accelerometers may not have provided accurate measures of activities such as cycling, resistance training, or water-based exercises. Intensity levels of activities may have been misclassified. Data on physical activity may have been incomplete as the accelerometers were worn only during waking hours.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received support from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, and participating county councils and municipalities. Additional support was provided by The Mälardalen area doctoral school in health care science and the Strategic Research Area Health Care Science at Karolinska Institutet. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.