More Exercise Resources Linked to More Physical Activity 1 Year After Mild Stroke

key takeaways:

• Those who had more physical activity resources available were 1.57 times more likely to be more active.
• The researchers said it's important to urge people to find ways to be active in their neighborhoods.

Adults with mild stroke were more likely to maintain the same level of physical activity or become more active with more resources available in their area, according to research presented at the International Stroke Conference.

“Exercising after stroke can improve health-related quality of life and promote physical fitness, mobility and balance,” said Jeffrey J. Wing, PhD, MPH, Lead study author and assistant professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health at The Ohio State University. “Physical activity is important in rehabilitation and recovery after stroke through reducing cardiovascular risk factors and reducing the risk of recurrent stroke and mortality.”

Wing and colleagues sought to examine whether local exercise resources influence change in physical activity 12 months after a stroke event.

Their study collected data from the addresses of 546 mild stroke survivors from the Discharge Educational Strategies for Reduction of Vascular Events (DESERVE) study. The participants whose data were analyzed were geocoded at the census tract level and merged with density of physical activity resources from the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NANDA).

The researchers used multinomial logistic regression models to calculate the probability of perceived change in physical activity (more active vs. about the same vs. less active) as well as the number of fitness and recreational sports centers per square mile at 12 months after stroke. Did. The models were adjusted for several socioeconomic factors, including age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, insurance, BMI, and method of intervention.

The results showed that, of the 333 participants who logged 12 months of data, 17.2% reported more physical activity and 48% reported the same amount of exertion. The adjusted odds of being more active compared to less active were 1.57 times higher when comparing the 90th percentile of physical activity resources with the 10th percentile (range: 58 resources; 95% CI: 0.99–2.48).

The data similarly showed that the adjusted odds of reporting the same level of physical activity compared to less active people were 1.47 times higher when the 90th and 10th percentiles of such resources were compared (95% CI: 0.99–2.17).

“It's not that people should move to a place where there are more resources to engage in physical activity, but rather people should be urged to find ways to be active in their neighborhoods,” said the study's co-author. Julie Strominger, MS, PhD candidate in epidemiology at The Ohio State University said in a related release. “It's the action that will yield better results, so just the act of being physically active really matters.”

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