Altulea Abdullah, Rutten Martijn G S, Verdijk Lex B, Demaria Marco
European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA), University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen (RUG), Groningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Human Biology, NUTRIM Institute for Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Geroscience. 2025 Apr;47(2):1397-1409. doi: 10.1007/s11357-024-01307-9. Epub 2024 Aug 12.
The human lifespan is influenced by various factors, with physical activity being a significant contributor. Despite the clear benefit of exercise on health and longevity, the association between different types of sports and lifespan is yet to be considered. Accordingly, we aimed to study this association in a large international cohort of former athletes using a robust linear regression model. We collected data on athletes from public sources, accumulating a total of 95,210 observations, 95.5% of which were accounted for by males. The dataset represented athletes born between 1862 and 2002 from 183 countries across 44 sports disciplines. We calculated the change in lifespan by measuring the difference in age between athletes and the corresponding reference populations, while accounting for variations caused by sex, year of death, and country. The results revealed that various sports impacted lifespan differently, with male athletes being more likely to experience benefits from sports than female athletes. Among male athletes, pole vaulting and gymnastics were linked to the highest extension in lifespan (8.4 years, 95% CI [6.8, 9.9] and 8.2 years, 95% CI [7.4, 9], respectively), while volleyball and sumo wrestling were the most negatively associated with lifespan (- 5.4 years, 95% CI [- 7, - 3.8]; - 9.8 years, 95% CI [- 11, - 8.6], respectively). The association between lifespan and popular team sports in males was positive for cricket, rowing, baseball, water polo, Australian rules, hurling, lacrosse, field hockey, minimal for rugby, canoeing and kayaking, basketball, gridiron football, and football (soccer), and negative for handball and volleyball. Racquet sports (i.e., tennis and badminton) exhibited a consistent and positive association in both male and female athletes, as shown by an extended lifespan of up to 5.7 years in males (95% CI [5, 6.5]) and 2.8 years in females (95% CI [1.8, 3.9]). Although lacking conclusive evidence, we theorize that the observed results may be attributed to the aerobic and anaerobic characteristics of each sport, with mixed sports yielding the maximum benefits for the lifespan. While results from female athletes should be cautiously interpreted, our study highlights the complex interplay between sports and lifespan and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the multifaceted relationship between physical activity and human longevity.
人类寿命受多种因素影响，体育活动是一个重要因素。尽管运动对健康和长寿有明显益处，但不同类型运动与寿命之间的关联尚未得到充分研究。因此，我们旨在使用稳健的线性回归模型，在一个大型国际前运动员队列中研究这种关联。我们从公共来源收集了运动员数据，共积累了95210条观测数据，其中95.5%为男性。该数据集代表了来自183个国家、44个体育项目、出生于1862年至2002年的运动员。我们通过测量运动员与相应参考人群的年龄差异来计算寿命变化，同时考虑性别、死亡年份和国家引起的差异。结果显示，不同运动对寿命的影响不同，男性运动员比女性运动员更有可能从运动中受益。在男性运动员中，撑杆跳和体操与寿命延长最多相关（分别为8.4年，95%置信区间[6.8, 9.9]和8.2年，95%置信区间[7.4, 9]），而排球和相扑与寿命的负相关性最强（分别为-5.4年，95%置信区间[-7, -3.8]；-9.8年，95%置信区间[-11, -8.6]）。男性中，寿命与流行团体运动之间的关联在板球、赛艇、棒球、水球、澳式橄榄球、爱尔兰曲棍球、长曲棍球、曲棍球中为正，在橄榄球、皮划艇、篮球、美式橄榄球和足球（英式足球）中最小，在手球和排球中为负。球拍类运动（即网球和羽毛球）在男性和女性运动员中均呈现一致的正相关，男性寿命延长可达5.7年（95%置信区间[5, 6.5]），女性为2.8年（95%置信区间[1.8, 3.9]）。尽管缺乏确凿证据，但我们推测观察到的结果可能归因于每项运动的有氧和无氧特性，混合运动对寿命的益处最大。虽然女性运动员的结果应谨慎解读，但我们的研究突出了运动与寿命之间复杂的相互作用，并为体育活动与人类长寿之间多方面关系的知识积累做出了贡献。
