Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Physical Activity: A Longitudinal Study of University Retirees in...

We examined the longitudinal relationship between ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and physical activity-related health behaviors among university retirees in Beijing, China.

Annual health surveys of retirees were conducted at Tsinghua University during 2011-2016. We conducted linear individual fixed-effect regression analyses to estimate the impact of ambient PM2.5 concentration on physical activity-related health behaviors among survey participants, adjusting for various time-variant individual characteristics and environmental measures.

An increase in ambient PM2.5 concentration by one standard deviation (56.6 μg/m³) was associated with a reduction in weekly total hours of walking by 4.69 (95% confidence interval=1.30-8.08), a reduction in leisure-time Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) score by 71.16 (28.91-113.41), and a reduction in total PASE score by 110.67 (59.25-162.08). An increase in ambient PM2.5 concentration by one standard deviation was associated with an increase in daily average hours of nighttime/daytime sleeping by 1.75 (1.24-2.26). The impact of ambient PM2.5 concentration on weekly hours of walking tended to be greater among men than among women.

Air pollution significantly discouraged Chinese older adults from engaging in daily physical activities. Policy interventions are needed to reduce air pollution in China's urban areas.