Associations of regular physical exercise and total physical activity volume with the prevalence of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study
- 1School of Exercise and Health, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
- 2Clinical Research and Innovation Translation Center, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the association between regular physical exercise (RPE) and the prevalence of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism (AGLM, an observational window defined by the presence of any single abnormality across fasting glucose, insulin, and lipid components) among community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 499 older adults, comprising 378 individuals with RPE habit (defined as ≥3 sessions/week, ≥30 min/session, for ≥3 years) and 121 irregular exercise controls. Data on domain-specific physical activity volumes, sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical biochemical parameters were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression.
Results: The overall prevalence of AGLM was 60.5%. Residents engaging in RPE exhibited a significantly lower unadjusted prevalence of AGLM compared to those without RPE (57.9% vs. 68.6%, P = 0.037). The RPE group also showed a lower proportion of abnormal fasting glucose (13.8% vs. 28.1%, P < 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that RPE was independently associated with a lower odds of AGLM (adjusted OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.40–0.99). Categorical analysis indicated that physical activity exceeding 5500 MET-min/w was associated with lower odds of presenting with AGLM. Besides, interaction analyses revealed that this inverse association was most pronounced among BMI 24.0–27.9 subgroup, (P for interaction = 0.004).
Conclusion: Both RPE status and higher total physical activity volumes (particularly >5500 MET-min/w) are independently associated with lower odds of the composite AGLM phenotype among community-dwelling older adults. These cross-sectional findings highlight that long-term structured exercise habits, alongside overall physical activity, represent crucial lifestyle factors associated with favorable metabolic homeostasis in aging populations.
Related
- Physical activity, sleep duration, and multimorbidity: a cross-sectional study of prevalence associations and association rule mining of multimorbidity patterns
- Associations between community built environment and leisure-time physical activity among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Associations of physical function and multimorbidity with cognitive impairment in community-dwelling Chinese octogenarians
- Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol consumption among youths of Siddharthanagar Municipality, Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, Nepal: a community-based cross-sectional study
- Prevalence and determinants of urban malaria among urban residents of Dilla Town, southern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study
BibTeX
@article{wang2026associations,
title = {{Associations of regular physical exercise and total physical activity volume with the prevalence of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study}},
author = {Liuqian Wang and Lihua Jiang and Haoyue Zhang and Ruiping Wang and Xiangyun Liu},
journal = {Annals of medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/07853890.2026.2752645},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726326},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations of regular physical exercise and total physical activity volume with the prevalence of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism among community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study
AU - Liuqian Wang
AU - Lihua Jiang
AU - Haoyue Zhang
AU - Ruiping Wang
AU - Xiangyun Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/31
JO - Annals of medicine
DO - 10.1080/07853890.2026.2752645
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726326
AB - Objective: To investigate the association between regular physical exercise (RPE) and the prevalence of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism (AGLM, an observational window defined by the presence of any single abnormality across fasting glucose, insulin, and lipid components) among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 499 older adults, comprising 378 individuals with RPE habit (defined as ≥3 sessions/week, ≥30 min/session, for ≥3 years) and 121 irregular exercise controls. Data on domain-specific physical activity volumes, sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical biochemical parameters were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Results: The overall prevalence of AGLM was 60.5%. Residents engaging in RPE exhibited a significantly lower unadjusted prevalence of AGLM compared to those without RPE (57.9% vs. 68.6%, P = 0.037). The RPE group also showed a lower proportion of abnormal fasting glucose (13.8% vs. 28.1%, P < 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that RPE was independently associated with a lower odds of AGLM (adjusted OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.40–0.99). Categorical analysis indicated that physical activity exceeding 5500 MET-min/w was associated with lower odds of presenting with AGLM. Besides, interaction analyses revealed that this inverse association was most pronounced among BMI 24.0–27.9 subgroup, (P for interaction = 0.004). Conclusion: Both RPE status and higher total physical activity volumes (particularly >5500 MET-min/w) are independently associated with lower odds of the composite AGLM phenotype among community-dwelling older adults. These cross-sectional findings highlight that long-term structured exercise habits, alongside overall physical activity, represent crucial lifestyle factors associated with favorable metabolic homeostasis in aging populations.
SN - 0785-3890
SN - 1365-2060
ER -