Walking is associated with a reduced risk of death from pneumonia

This study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology 2007 Nov;17(6):194-202

 

Study title and authors:

Risk and protective factors related to mortality from pneumonia among middleaged and elderly community residents: the JACC Study.

Inoue Y, Koizumi A, Wada Y, Iso H, Watanabe Y, Date C, Yamamoto A, Kikuchi S, Inaba Y, Toyoshima H, Tamakoshi A.

Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18094518

The study investigated various factors related to the death rate from pneumonia. The study included 110,792 individuals (aged 40-79 years) who were followed for 15 years.

Regarding walking, the study found:
(a) Those who walked less than 1/2 hour per day had a 30% increased risk of death from pneumonia compared to those who walked 1/2 hour  per day.
(b) Those who walked more than one hour per day had a 30% decreased risk of death from pneumonia compared to those who walked 1/2 hour per day.

The results from the study show that an increase in walking time is associated with a reduced risk of death from pneumonia.

Walking is associated with lower total death rates and lower death rates from cardiovascular disease in adults with diabetes

This study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine 2003 Jun 23;163(12):1440-7

Study title and authors:
Relationship of walking to mortality among US adults with diabetes.

Gregg EW, Gerzoff RB, Caspersen CJ, Williamson DF, Narayan KM.
Division of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. edg7@cdc.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12824093

The objective of the study was to estimate the association between walking and the risk of death from all-causes and death from cardiovascular disease among persons with diabetes. The study included 2,896 adults 18 years and older with diabetes who were followed for eight years.

The study found:
(a) Compared with inactive individuals, those who walked at least 2 hours per week had a 39% decreased risk of death from any cause.
(b) Compared with inactive individuals, those who walked at least 2 hours per week had a 34% decreased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Walking is associated with lower total death rates and lower death rates from cardiovascular disease in adults with diabetes.

Walking increases longevity in the elderly

This study was published in Maturitas 2012 Dec 29. pii: S0378-5122(12)00400-8

 

Study title and authors:

Walking four times weekly for at least 15min is associated with longevity in a Cohort of very elderly people.

Fortes C, Mastroeni S, Sperati A, Pacifici R, Zuccaro P, Francesco F, Agabiti N, Piras G, Amleto D, Ebrahim S.

Clinical Epidemiology Unit, IDI-IRCSS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: c.fortes@idi.it.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280132

This study investigated the role of walking outdoors on longevity. The study lasted for ten years and included 152 self-caring and mobile elderly people, average age 80 years.

The study found that elderly people who walked in the open air for at least 15 minutes, four times a week had a 40% decreased risk of death compared to individuals who walked less than four times a week.