Active lifestyle significantly reduces risk of 19 chronic diseases, study finds

University of Iowa researchers recommend that all patients be asked about their physical activity level, after a new study highlights the link between physical activity and chronic diseases.

The study, led by Lucas Carr, associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Physiology, examined responses from more than 7,000 patients at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center, who rated their level of health. physical activity in a questionnaire.

The study titled “Screening patients for physical inactivity helps identify patients at risk for cardiometabolic and chronic diseases” was published online in Prevent chronic diseases.

From patients’ responses to the questionnaire, researchers found that those who reported the highest level of physical activity, that is, they exercised moderately to vigorously for at least 150 minutes per week, were at a statistically lower risk of suffering from 19 chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases. diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes.

The findings further suggest that less active patients – meaning they report little or no exercise in a given week – are at increased risk of developing chronic disease.

Based on these findings, the Iowa researchers also recommend that health systems provide information about health and wellness services aimed at physically inactive patients most at risk.

“In our health care environment, there is no easy path for a physician to be reimbursed for helping their patients become more physically active,” says Carr, the study’s corresponding author. “And so, for these patients, many of whom report insufficient activity, we need options to easily connect them to supportive services like exercise prescriptions and/or community health specialists.”

Most hospitals in the United States do not ask patients about their physical activity, and no hospital systems in the Midwest have done so, according to the researchers.

In this study, Carr partnered with Britt Marcussen, a family medicine physician at UI Health Care, to offer the questionnaire to patients coming in for annual wellness exam appointments. The study period extended from November 2017 to December 2022.

The Exercise Vital Sign survey, as the questionnaire is called, asked patients two questions which they answered on a tablet:

• “On average, how many days per week do you do moderate to vigorous exercise (such as brisk walking)? » (0-7 days)
• “On average, how many minutes do you exercise at this level?”

Carr and his team propose making the survey accessible to all patients.

“This two-question survey typically takes the patient less than 30 seconds, so it doesn’t interfere with their visit. But it can tell us a lot about that patient’s overall health,” Carr says.

Researchers also compared the results of patients who completed the surveys with those of more than 33,000 patients who were not offered the survey in other areas of the hospital. Researchers found that patients who responded to the survey were younger and healthier than the patient population who did not receive the questionnaire, based on analysis of electronic medical records for all patients.

Although the link between physical activity and reduced risk of chronic disease is known, the researchers say the study highlights the value of asking patients about their level of physical activity.

“We believe this finding is because patients who take the time to attend annual wellness exams also take more time to adopt healthy behaviors, such as being physically active,” Carr says.

In a related context studypublished in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Carr’s team discovered that when healthcare providers Billed for providing exercise advice to patients, these bills were reimbursed by insurers almost 95% of the time.

“Our results suggest that recommended physical activity billing codes are reimbursed at a high rate when providers submit them for reimbursement, supporting the idea of ​​making physical activity surveys and counseling services available” , explains Carr.

Cole Chapman, an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, is the first author of the study. Chapman, who joined the pharmacy faculty in 2019 after earning bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at Iowa, collected and analyzed data from patients’ electronic medical records.

Marcussen and Mary Schroeder, associate professor in the College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Practice and Science, are co-authors of the study.