Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 451,699 participants in UK Biobank by stair climbing.
| Variable | Frequency of stair climbing (steps/day) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 10–50 | 60–100 | 110–150 | >150 | |
| No. of participants | 39,805 | 89,840 | 164,931 | 85,122 | 72,001 |
| Age (year) | 59.0 ± 7.7 | 55.9 ± 8.0 | 56.2 ± 8.0 | 56.2 ± 8.2 | 55.9 ± 8.2 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.7 ± 4.9 | 28 ±5.1 | 27.2 ± 4.5 | 26.6 ±4.2 | 26.3 ± 4.1 |
| Male | 17,688 (44.4) | 42,964 (47.8) | 75,570 (45.8) | 36,706 (43.1) | 29,470 (40.9) |
| Caucasian ethnicity | 38,073 (95.6) | 83,348 (92.8) | 157,574 (95.5) | 81,717 (96.0) | 68,215 (94.7) |
| Townsend deprivation index | –2.0 (–3.6 to 1.3) | –1.5 (–3.4 to 1.6) | –2.3 (–3.7 to 0) | –2.4 (–3.8 to –0.2) | –2.3 (–3.7 to 0.1) |
| Education | |||||
| College or university | 8806 (22.1) | 26,960 (30.0) | 55,274 (33.5) | 31,477 (37.0) | 27,060 (37.6) |
| Vocational | 5291 (13.3) | 11,086 (12.3) | 19,368 (11.7) | 9241 (10.9) | 7445 (10.3) |
| Upper secondary | 3602 (9.0) | 9468 (10.5) | 18,880 (11.4) | 10,354 (12.2) | 8678 (12.1) |
| Lower secondary | 10,517 (26.4) | 23,759 (26.4) | 45,408 (27.5) | 22,660 (26.6) | 18,522 (25.7) |
| Other | 11,026 (27.7) | 17,558 (19.5) | 24,625 (14.9) | 10,732 (12.6) | 9545 (13.3) |
| Unknown | 563 (1.4) | 1009 (1.1) | 1376 (0.8) | 658 (0.8) | 751 (1.0) |
| Household income (GBP) | |||||
| <18,000 | 12,606 (31.7) | 19,780 (22.0) | 27,305 (16.6) | 13,034 (15.3) | 11,404 (15.8) |
| ≥18,000 to <30,999 | 9398 (23.6) | 19,359 (21.5) | 35,965 (21.8) | 18,490 (21.7) | 15,034 (20.9) |
| ≥30,999 to <51,999 | 6399 (16.1) | 19,260 (21.4) | 39,600 (24.0) | 20,967 (24.6) | 16,674 (23.2) |
| ≥51,999 to <100,000 | 3400 (8.5) | 14,500 (16.1) | 31,982 (19.4) | 17,192 (20.2) | 14,159 (19.7) |
| ≥100,000 | 693 (1.7) | 3935 (4.4) | 8449 (5.1) | 4477 (5.3) | 4239 (5.9) |
| Unknown | 7309 (18.4) | 13,006 (14.5) | 21,630 (13.1) | 10,962 (12.9) | 10,491 (14.6) |
| Employment status | 16,151 (40.6) | 56,431 (62.8) | 102,540 (62.2) | 49,396 (58.0) | 264,855 (56.0) |
| Type of accommodation | |||||
| House or bungalow | 27,374 (68.8) | 69,689 (77.6) | 156,837 (95.1) | 82,468 (96.9) | 69,243 (96.2) |
| Flat, maisonette, or apartment | 11,443 (28.7) | 19,311 (21.5) | 7510 (4.6) | 2405 (2.8) | 43,137 (3.4) |
| Other | 988 (2.5) | 840 (0.9) | 584 (0.4) | 249 (0.3) | 2951 (0.4) |
| Smoking status | |||||
| Never | 19,554 (49.1) | 46,820 (52.1) | 91,736 (55.6) | 48,737 (57.3) | 42,170 (58.6) |
| Former | 14,735 (37.0) | 30,851 (34.3) | 56,580 (34.3) | 28,758 (33.8) | 23,111 (32.1) |
| Current | 5293 (13.3) | 11,812 (13.1) | 16,095 (9.8) | 7394 (8.7) | 6474 (9) |
| Unknown | 223 (0.6) | 357 (0.4) | 520 (0.3) | 233 (0.3) | 246 (0.3) |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 10.2 (3.2 to 20.8) | 10.3 (3.4 to 22.2) | 11.9 (5.1 to 22.3) | 11.9 (5.1 to 22.2) | 11.4 (5.1 to 22.1) |
| Healthy diet score | 3.1 ± 1.4 | 2.9 ± 1.4 | 3.0 ± 1.4 | 3.1 ± 1.4 | 3.2 ± 1.4 |
| Physical activity (MET-h/week) | 28.9 (12.3 to 59.5) | 24.2 (10.4 to 51.5) | 28.6 (13.5 to 56.4) | 32.2 (15.6 to 62.2) | 39.3 (19.3 to 75.1) |
| Sedentary (h/day) | 4.7 ± 2.7 | 4.7 ± 2.7 | 4.5 ± 2.5 | 4.4 ± 2.5) | 4.3 ± 2.5 |
| Walking pace | |||||
| Slow | 5640 (14.2) | 11,382 (12.7) | 9166 (5.6) | 3276 (3.8) | 2395 (3.3) |
| Steady | 20,870 (52.4) | 49,071 (54.6) | 89,938 (54.5) | 43,026 (50.5) | 33,329 (46.3) |
| Brisk | 12,986 (32.6) | 28,979 (32.3) | 65,564 (39.8) | 38,710 (45.5) | 36,123 (50.2) |
| Unknown | 309 (0.8) | 408 (0.5) | 263 (0.2) | 110 (0.1) | 154 (0.2) |
| Long-standing illness, disability, or infirmity | 15,390 (38.7) | 30,029 (33.4) | 44,478 (27.0) | 21,616 (25.4) | 18,028 (25.0) |
| Antihypertensive medication use | 9695 (24.4) | 17,661 (19.7) | 29,584 (17.9) | 14,095 (16.6) | 11,504 (16.0) |
| Lipid-lowering treatment | 8255 (20.7) | 13,937 (15.5) | 23,167 (14.0) | 11,133 (13.1) | 8800 (12.2) |
| Aspirin use | 6303 (15.8) | 11,444 (12.7) | 19,091 (11.6) | 9304 (10.9) | 7631 (10.6) |
| Depression | 5098 (12.8) | 10,914 (12.1) | 17,687 (10.7) | 9016 (10.6) | 7653 (10.6) |
| Dyslipidemia | 22,891 (57.5) | 49,132 (54.7) | 84,513 (51.2) | 41,064 (48.2) | 33,109 (46.0) |
| Hypertension | 24,627 (61.9) | 49,920 (55.6) | 88,753 (53.8) | 43,901 (51.6) | 36,710 (51) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 4064 (10.2) | 6634 (7.4) | 9549 (5.8) | 4284 (5.0) | 3489 (4.9) |
| Cancer | 5164 (13) | 9641 (10.7) | 17,577 (10.7) | 9353 (11.0) | 7939 (11.0) |
Notes: Data are presented as mean ± SD, n (%), or median (IQR). Some percentages do not sum to 100% because of rounding.
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; IQR = interquartile range; MET = metabolic equivalent.