Walking 8000-10,000 steps even twice a week reduces mortality: JAMA

The study found that the number of days per week taking 8000 steps or above was linked with a lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a curvilinear fashion.

Previous studies have shown that regular walking, specifically 8000 daily steps or more, is tied to lower mortality. However, more is needed to know about the health benefits of walking intensively for only a few days a week. Kosuke Inoue, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan and colleagues aimed to evaluate the dose-response association between the number of days an individual takes 8000 steps or more and mortality among US adults in a cohort study.

The researchers evaluated a representative sample of participants aged 20 years or above in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2005-2006 who wore an accelerometer for one week and their mortality data through December 31, 2019. Data analysis was done from April 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023.

Participants were categorized by the number of days per week they took 8000 steps or more (3-7 days, 1-2 days, and 0 days).

Adjusted risk differences were estimated for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality during the 10-year follow-up after adjustment for potential confounders (e.g., ethnicity, race, sex, marital status, insurance status, smoking, average daily step counts, and comorbidities).

The study led to the following findings:

• Among 3101 participants (mean age, 50.5 years; 51.0% were women and 49.0% men] other race and ethnicity), 20.4% did not take 8000 steps or more any day of the week, 17.2% took 8000 steps or more 1 to 2 days per week, and 62.5% took 8000 steps or more 3 to 7 days per week.
• Over the 10-year follow-up, all-cause and cardiovascular deaths occurred in 14.2% and 5.3% of participants, respectively.
• Compared with participants who walked 8000 steps or more 0 days per week, all-cause mortality risk was lower among those who took 8000 steps or more 1 to 2 days per week (aRD, −14.9%) and 3 to 7 days per week (aRD, −16.5%).
• The dose-response association for both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk was curvilinear; the protective association plateaued at three days per week. Different thresholds for the number of daily steps between 6000 and 10 000 yielded similar results.

"We estimated a curvilinear dose-response association between the number of days taking 8000 steps or above throughout the week and reduced risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among US adults," the researchers wrote. "When people took sufficient daily steps for three days or more, the protective association plateaued."

"The findings might suffer from residual confounding that needs to be addressed in future research," they added, suggesting that people may get substantial health benefits even if a sufficient number of steps are taken on only a couple days of the week.

Reference:

Inoue K, Tsugawa Y, Mayeda ER, Ritz B. Association of Daily Step Patterns With Mortality in US Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e235174. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.5174