Ambulatory Activity and Risk of Premature Mortality Among Young and Middle-aged American Indian Individuals

IMPORTANCE: To our knowledge, no published studies have investigated the association of ambulatory activity with risk of death among young and middle-aged American Indian individuals. The burden of chronic disease and risk of premature death is higher among American Indian individuals than among the general US population, so better understanding of the association of ambulatory activity with risk of death is needed to inform public health messaging in tribal communities. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of objectively measured ambulatory activity (ie, steps per day) with risk of death among young and middle-aged American Indian individuals. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The ongoing longitudinal Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS) is being conducted with participants aged 14 to 65 years in 12 rural American Indian communities in Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma and includes up to 20 years of follow-up (February 26, 2001, to December 31, 2020). This cohort study included SHFS participants who had available pedometer data at baseline. Data analysis was performed on June 9, 2022. EXPOSURES: Objectively measured ambulatory activity at baseline. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Outcomes of interest were total and cardiovascular-related mortality. Mixed-effects Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios for risk of death, with entry at the time of the pedometer assessment and time at risk until death or the latest adjudicated date of follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 2204 participants were included in this study. Their mean (SD) age was 41.0 (16.8) years; 1321 (59.9%) were female and 883 (40.1%) were male. During a mean follow-up of 17.0 years (range, 0-19.9 years), 449 deaths occurred. Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of steps per day (<3126 steps), individuals in the upper 3 quartiles of steps per day had lower risk of mortality, with hazard ratios of0.72 (95% CI, 0.54-0.95) for the first quartile, 0.66 (95% CI, 0.47-0.93) for the second quartile, and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.44-0.95) for the third quartile after adjustment for age, sex, study site, education, smoking status, alcohol use, diet quality, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, prevalent diabetes, prevalent cardiovascular disease, biomarker levels (fibrinogen, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides), medication use (hypertensive or lipid-lowering agents), and self-reported health status. The magnitude of the hazard ratios was similar for cardiovascular mortality. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, American Indian individuals who took at least 3126 steps/d had a lower risk of death compared with participants who accumulated fewer steps per day. These findings suggest that step counters are an inexpensive tool that offers an opportunity to encourage activity and improve long-term health outcomes.