Longevity of men capable of prolonged vigorous physical exercise: a 32 year follow up of 2259 participants in the Dutch eleven cities ice skating tour.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the long term survival of a group of athletes taking prolonged vigorous physical exercise to that of the general population.

DESIGN

Follow up of a cohort of participants in the Dutch eleven cities ice skating tour (a race and recreational tour) over a distance of 200 kilometers.

SETTING

Data on participation from the organising committee and data on mortality from all municipalities in The Netherlands.

SUBJECTS

2259 Male athletes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Comparison of all cause mortality in male participants in the tour with that in the general population of The Netherlands.

RESULTS

The standardised mortality ratio for all participants during 32 years of follow up was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.68 to 0.85), and 0.90 (0.48 to 1.44) for participants in the race, and 0.72 (0.60 to 0.86) for participants in the recreational tour who finished within the time limit.

CONCLUSIONS

The capacity for prolonged and vigorous physical exercise, particularly if the exercise is recreational, is a strong indicator of longevity.