Physical activity and successful aging among middle-aged and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate the association between physical activity and successful aging among middle-aged and older adults and study how this association changes with age and time.

RESULTS

The mean score of Newcastle-Ottawa Scale assessment was 8.0±0.8. Physically active middle-aged and older adults were more likely to age successfully than sedentary adults (OR=1.64, 95%CI: 1.40-1.94). The effect of physical activity was stronger in the younger group (OR=1.71, 95%CI: 1.41-2.08) than on the older group (OR=1.54, 95%CI: 1.13-2.08). However, the protective effect of physical activity reduced annually by approximately 3%.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity promotes successful aging among middle-aged and older adults especially in the younger population. Being physically active at middle and old age is beneficial to successful aging.

METHODS

We searched for the relevant studies in three online databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase. Fifteen community-based cohort studies were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale assessment Form was used for quality assessment. Overall, 189,192 participants aged 43.9-79.0 years were analyzed. The odds ratio for successful aging of the most physically active group compared with sedentary group was analyzed. Subgroup analysis was conducted by age group. Univariate Meta-regression was performed according to follow-up years.