Physical Activity, Mental Activity, and Risk of Incident Stroke: A Prospective Cohort Study

Cumulative evidence suggests a correlation between physical or mental activity and the risk of stroke. However, the combined impact of these activities on stroke onset remains unexplored. This study identified physical and mental activity patterns using principal component analysis and investigated their associations with risk of incident stroke in the general population.

Our study was sourced from the UK Biobank cohort between 2006 and 2010. Information on physical and mental-related activities were obtained through a touch-screen questionnaire. The incident stroke was diagnosed by physicians and subsequently verified through linkage to Hospital Episode Statistics. Principal component analysis was used to identify potential physical and mental activity patterns. Cox proportional hazard regression models were performed to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs of incident stroke, adjusting for potential confounders.

The initial UK Biobank cohort originally consisted of 502 411 individuals, of whom a total of 386 902 participants (aged 38-79 years) without any history of stroke at baseline were included in our study. During a median follow-up of 7.7 years, 6983 (1.8%) cases of stroke were documented. The mean age of the included participants was 55.9 years, and the proportion of women was 55.1%. We found that multiple individual items related to physical and mental activity showed significant associations with risk of stroke. We identified 4 patterns of physical activity and 3 patterns of mental activity using principal component analysis. The adherence to activity patterns of vigorous exercise, housework, and walking predominant patterns were associated with a lower risk of stroke by 17% (HR, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.78-0.89]; 20% (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.75-0.85]; and 20% (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.75-0.86), respectively. Additionally, the transportation predominant pattern (HR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.28-1.45) and watching TV pattern (HR, 1.43 [95% CI, 1.33-1.53) were found to be significantly associated with a higher risk of stroke. These associations remained consistent across all subtypes of stroke.

Activity patterns mainly related to frequent vigorous exercise, housework, and walking were associated with lower risks of stroke and all its subtypes. Our findings provide new insights for promoting suitable patterns of physical and mental activity for primary prevention of stroke.