Takeaway
Spending >3.5 hours/day outdoors was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke compared with spending <1.5 hours/day outdoors.
Why this matters
Findings emphasise the importance of considering the potential harmful effects of the urban environment on cardiovascular health.
Further studies are warranted to determine the role of pollution in the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Study design
This longitudinal analysis included 431,146 middle- and old-aged participants (age, 40-69 years) from the UK Biobank who were followed for a median time of 7 years.
Time spent outdoors was self-reported and participants were categorised into 4 groups based on how much time they spent outdoors:
reference group (<1.5 hours/day);
group 2 (1.5-2.4 hours/day);
group 3 (2.5-3.5 hours/day); and
group 4 (>3.5 hours/day).
Funding: None disclosed.
Key results
During the median follow-up of 7 years, 4724 (1.10%) MI and 2809 (0.65%) stroke incident events were reported.
Spending >3.5 vs <1.5 hours/day outdoors was associated with an increased risk of (adjusted HR [aHR]; 95% CI):
MI (1.20; 1.06-1.36); and
stoke (1.14; 0.97-1.34).
The risk of MI was stronger in men (aHR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09-1.47) than in women (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.84-1.35).
The risk of stroke was higher in both men (aHR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.94-1.47) and women (aHR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.87-1.43).
Limitations
Data on time spent outdoors and lifestyle factors were self-reported.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. Spending More Time Outdoors Tied to a Higher Risk of MI and Stroke - Medscape - Jun 07, 2021.
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