Research at the University of Iowa reveals a clear connection between regular physical activity and reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular issues and diabetes.
By analyzing over 7,000 patient responses to a physical activity survey, the study suggests that engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise weekly significantly lowers the risk of chronic conditions.
Physical Activity Reduces Chronic Disease Risk
University of Iowa researchers are recommending that all patients be asked about their physical activity levels, following a study that highlights the strong connection between exercise and chronic disease prevention.
Led by Lucas Carr, an associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Physiology, the study analyzed responses from over 7,000 patients at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center. These patients completed a questionnaire detailing their physical activity habits.
Significant Findings on Activity Levels
The results revealed that individuals who engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 150 minutes per week had a significantly lower risk of developing 19 chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes.
Conversely, the study found that those who reported little to no weekly exercise faced a much higher likelihood of developing chronic diseases, emphasizing the importance of regular physical activity.
Recommendations for Health Care Systems
Based on those results, the Iowa researchers also recommend health care systems provide information on health and wellness services for physically inactive patients who are at most risk.
“In our healthcare environment, there’s no easy pathway for a doctor to be reimbursed for helping patients become more physically active,” says Carr, the study’s corresponding author. “And so, for these patients, many of whom report insufficient activity, we need options to easily connect them with supportive services like exercise prescriptions and/or community health specialists.”
Survey Implementation and Insights
Most hospitals in the United States do not ask patients about their physical activity, and no hospital system in the Midwest has done so, according to the researchers. In this study, Carr partnered with Britt Marcussen, a family medicine physician in UI Health Care, to offer the questionnaire to patients visiting for annual wellness exam appointments. The study period was from November 2017 to December 2022.
The Exercise Vital Sign survey, as the questionnaire is called, asked patients two questions that they answered on a tablet:
- “On average, how many days per week do you engage in moderate to vigorous exercise (like a brisk walk)?” (0-7 days)
- “On average, how many minutes do you engage in exercise at this level?”
Carr and his team propose making the survey available to all patients.
“This two-question survey typically takes fewer than 30 seconds for a patient to complete, so it doesn’t interfere with their visit. But it can tell us a whole lot about that patient’s overall health,” Carr says.
Comparative Analysis and Implications
The researchers also compared results from patients who completed the surveys with more than 33,000 patients who weren’t offered the survey in other areas of the hospital. The researchers found patients who took the survey were younger and in better health than the patient population who weren’t given the questionnaire, based on analyzing all patients’ electronic medical records.
While the link between physical activity and reduced risk of chronic disease has been known, the researchers say the study underscores the value of surveying patients about their physical activity levels.
“We believe this finding is a result of those patients who take the time to come in for annual wellness exams also are taking more time to engage in healthy behaviors, such as being physically active,” Carr says.
Conclusion and Future Directions
In a related study, published this month in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Carr’s team found that when healthcare providers billed for providing exercise counseling to patients, those invoices were reimbursed by insurance providers nearly 95 percent of the time.
“Our findings suggest the recommended physical activity billing codes are reimbursed at a high rate when providers submit them for reimbursement, which reinforces the idea to make physical activity surveys and counseling services available,” Carr says.
The study was published online today (January 2) in Preventing Chronic Disease, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reference: “Screening Patients for Physical Inactivity Helps Identify Patients at Risk for Cardiometabolic and Chronic Diseases” 2 January 2024, Preventing Chronic Disease.
Cole Chapman, assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, is the first author on the study. Chapman, who joined the Pharmacy faculty in 2019 after earning bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at Iowa, collected and analyzed the data from the patients’ electronic medical records.
Marcussen and Mary Schroeder, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science in the College of Pharmacy, are study co-authors.
UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital funded the research.
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