Moderate to vigorous physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection
- 1 August 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
- Vol. 34 (8), 1242-1248
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200208000-00003
Abstract
MATTHEWS, C. E., I. S. OCKENE, P. S. FREEDSON, M. C. ROSAL, P. A. MERRIAM, and J. R. HEBERT. Moderate to vigorous physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 34, No. 8, pp. 1242–1248, 2002. A “J”-shaped model has been proposed to describe the relationship between physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection (URTI). However, little epidemiologic evidence is available to support the contention that moderately active individuals are at lowest risk of URTI. This investigation examined differences in URTI risk between physically inactive and moderately active adults. Observational study of 547 healthy adults (49% women) aged 20–70 yr reported URTI events at 90-d intervals over 12-month of follow-up (5 evaluations). Three 24-h physical activity recalls per evaluation were obtained and averaged to quantify total moderate-vigorous activity (≥3.0 metabolic equivalents [MET]). Associations between URTI and physical activity levels were estimated using incidence rate ratios (IRR) derived using Poisson regression while adjusting for a number of potential confounders including age, education, anxiety, cynicism, and selected dietary factors. Men and women reported 1.2 (1.4) and 1.2 (1.2) URTI events per year, respectively (mean [(SD]). Adjusting for gender and potential confounders, the IRR for less than 3.93, 3.94–7.15, 7.16–11.95, and ≥ 11.96 MET-h·d−1 among men, and less than 2.38, 2.39–4.09, 4.10–6.24, and ≥ 6.25 MET-h·d−1 among women, were 1.00 (referent), 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70–1.07), 0.88 (95% CI, 0.71–1.09), and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62–0.95), respectively (Ptrend = 0.03). This effect was stronger in men (Ptrend = 0.03) than women (Ptrend = 0.17), although at similar expenditure levels (6-7 MET-h·d−1), risk was reduced by about 20% in men and women. Risk reduction was most pronounced in the fall of the year (Ptrend = 0.02). These data support the hypothesis that moderate levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced risk for URTI.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Glutamine and the effects of exhaustive exercise upon the immune responseCanadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 1998
- Development and testing of a seven-day dietary recallJournal of Clinical Epidemiology, 1997
- Vitamin C and Common Cold Incidence: A Review of Studies with Subjects Under Heavy Physical StressInternational Journal of Sports Medicine, 1996
- Exercise and Upper Respiratory Tract InfectionsSports Medicine, 1992
- Computerized collection and analysis of dietary intake informationComputer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 1989
- The Cook-Medley hostility scale: item content and ability to predict survival.Psychosomatic Medicine, 1989
- An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1988
- The Common Cold: Control?The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1984
- Rhinovirus Infections in an Industrial PopulationThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1966
- An Inventory for Measuring DepressionArchives of General Psychiatry, 1961