PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AND MORTALITY IN WOMEN IN THE FRAMINGHAM HEART-STUDY

Men who are more active live longer, but it is not clear if the same i s true for women. We monitored 1404 women aged 50 to 74 who were free of cardiovascular disease. We assessed physical activity levels and ra nked subjects into quartiles. After 16 years, 319 (23%) women had died . The relative risk of mortality, compared to the least active quartil e, was as follows: second quartile, 0.95 (95% confidence interval [C]0 .72 to 1.26); third quartile, 0.63 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.86); most active quartile, 0.67 (95% Cl 0.48 to 0.92). The relative risks were not chan ged by adjustment for cardiac risk factors, chronic obstructive pulmon ary disease, or cancer or by excluding all subjects who died in the fi rst 6 years (to eliminate occult disease at baseline). There was no as sociation between activity levels and cardiovascular morbidity or mort ality. We conclude that women who were more active lived longer; this effect was not the result of decreased cardiovascular disease.