Table 4.
Effects of habitual physical activity on lung function in Taiwanese adults in the lowest and highest 10% of PM2.5 exposure
| Leisure time physical activity | N = 56,740 | Low PM2.5 (≤ 10th %)a | N = 56,757 | High PM2.5 (≥ 90th %)a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % difference | P | % difference | P | |||
| FVC | ||||||
| Low PA | 10,324 | 0.21 (− 0.10, 0.52) | 0.192 | 12,022 | 0.26 (− 0.02, 0.54) | 0.072 |
| Moderate PA | 10,946 | 0.50 (0.17, 0.83) | 0.003 | 11,470 | 0.41 (0.09, 0.72) | 0.010 |
| High PAb | ||||||
| 1st quartile (16.5–22.8) | 2777 | 1.27 (0.72, 1.81) | < 0.001 | 1940 | 0.76 (0.13, 1.40) | 0.018 |
| 2nd quartile (22.8–24.8) | 1343 | 0.84 (0.14, 1.56) | 0.019 | 1433 | 1.06 (0.41, 1.71) | 0.001 |
| 3rd quartile (24.8–35.8) | 3062 | 1.12 (0.60, 1.64) | < 0.001 | 2802 | 0.58 (0.06, 1.10) | 0.030 |
| 4th quartile (≥ 35.8) | 3105 | 1.82 (1.29, 2.36) | < 0.001 | 2028 | 0.92 (0.33, 1.52) | 0.002 |
| Per 10 MET-h | – | 0.27 (0.20, 0.35) | < 0.001 | – | 0.22 (0.14, 0.29) | < 0.001 |
| FEV1 | ||||||
| Low PA | 10,324 | 0.20 (− 0.11, 0.51) | 0.209 | 12,022 | 0.05 (− 0.18, 0.29) | 0.657 |
| Moderate PA | 10,946 | 0.60 (0.26, 0.93) | < 0.001 | 11,470 | 0.48 (0.22, 0.75) | < 0.001 |
| High PAb | ||||||
| 1st quartile (16.5–22.8) | 2777 | 1.38 (0.83, 1.94) | < 0.001 | 1940 | 1.35 (0.82, 1.88) | < 0.001 |
| 2nd quartile (22.8–24.8) | 1343 | 0.72 (0.01, 1.44) | 0.048 | 1433 | 0.95 (0.41, 1.49) | 0.001 |
| 3rd quartile (24.8–35.8) | 3062 | 1.54 (1.01, 2.07) | < 0.001 | 2802 | 1.11 (0.67, 1.55) | < 0.001 |
| 4th quartile (≥ 35.8) | 3105 | 1.59 (1.05, 2.14) | < 0.001 | 2028 | 1.06 (0.56, 1.57) | < 0.001 |
| 10 MET-h | – | 0.29 (0.21, 0.37) | < 0.001 | – | 0.21 (0.13, 0.29) | < 0.001 |
| MMEF | ||||||
| Low PA | 10,324 | − 0.06 (−0.54, 0.42) | 0.801 | 12,022 | 0.17 (− 0.22, 0.56) | 0.392 |
| Moderate PA | 10,946 | 0.49 (− 0.02, 1.00) | 0.059 | 11,470 | 0.53 (0.09, 0.97) | 0.019 |
| High PAb | ||||||
| 1st quartile (16.5–22.8) | 2777 | 2.06 (1.21, 2.91) | < 0.001 | 1940 | 1.69 (0.81, 2.57) | < 0.001 |
| 2nd quartile (22.8–24.8) | 1343 | 1.50 (0.39, 2.62) | 0.008 | 1433 | 0.60 (− 0.29, 1.49) | 0.189 |
| 3rd quartile (24.8–35.8) | 3062 | 1.91 (1.10, 2.72) | < 0.001 | 2802 | 0.44 (− 0.29, 1.17) | 0.243 |
| 4th quartile (≥ 35.8) | 3105 | 1.37 (0.54, 2.20) | 0.001 | 2028 | 0.52 (− 0.31, 1.36) | 0.221 |
| 10 MET-h | – | 0.42 (0.30, 0.54) | < 0.001 | – | 0.10 (− 0.03, 0.23) | 0.125 |
Lung function was logarithmically transformed to normalise the data for analysis, and then the original scale was transformed back to present the effects as percentage (%) difference in lung function parameters with 95% confidence interval
Participants with inactive PA category was the reference group
The results were fully adjusted for age, sex, educational level, body mass index, season, year, smoking, drinking, vegetable intake, fruit intake, occupational exposure to dust and organic solvent, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, self-reported cardiovascular disease, and self-reported cancer
PA physical activity, FVC forced vital capacity, FEV1 forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and MMEF maximum mid-expiratory flow
aThe 10th and 90th PM2.5 refers to ≤ 19.6 and ≥ 39.9 μg/m3, respectively
bHigh PA was further categorised into four quartiles according to the MET-h to show the effects of very high PA levels