Physical Activity, Cardiovascular Status, Mortality, and Prediabetes in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Adults

Data are limited on the association of physical activity (PA) with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in prediabetes, especially in racial and ethnic minority groups, including Hispanic and Latino populations.

To determine the association of PA with incident CVD and mortality by prediabetes status among Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic adults.

This cohort study included data from 2 cohorts of adults with prediabetes or normoglycemia who were free of CVD at baseline visit: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) from baseline examination through 2017, with median (IQR) follow-up of 7.8 (7.2-8.5) years, and the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) with non-Hispanic participants from index examination through 2019, with median (IQR) follow-up of 9.6 (8.1-10.7) years. Analyses were conducted between September 1, 2022, and January 10, 2024.

The primary exposure was baseline accelerometry-measured moderate to vigorous PA, insufficient vs sufficient to meet 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) in both cohorts; additional accelerometer-measured exposures in HCHS/SOL were steps per day, sedentary behavior, and counts per min.

The outcome was a composite of incident CVD or all-cause mortality, whichever came first.

This cohort study included 13 223 participants: from HCHS/SOL, there were 9456 adults (all self-identified Hispanic or Latino ethnicity; survey-adjusted mean [SD] age, 38.3 [13.9] years, unweighted counts 5673 (60.0%) female; 4882 [51.6%] with normoglycemia; 4574 [48.4%] with prediabetes), and from FHS there were 3767 adults (3623 [96.2%] non-Hispanic and 140 [3.7%] Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with 4 [0.1%] participants missing ethnicity; mean [SD] age, 54.2 [13.6] years; 2128 (56.5%) female; 2739 [72.7%] with normoglycemia; 1028 [27.3%] with prediabetes). Not meeting PAG was associated with higher risk of the composite outcome among participants with normoglycemia (vs PAG met; hazard ratio [HR], 1.85 [95% CI, 1.12-3.06]), but not among participants with prediabetes (HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 0.72-1.58]). For HCHS/SOL, no statistically significant association was found between the composite outcome and other PA metrics, although estimated HRs tended to be higher for lower activity in the normoglycemia group but not for the prediabetes group (eg, for steps less than vs at least 7000 per day, the HR was 1.58 [95% CI, 0.85-2.93] for normoglycemia vs 1.08 [95% CI 0.67-1.74] for prediabetes). While there was also no association in HCHS/SOL between the composite outcome and sedentary behavior, results were similar in the prediabetes group (HR per 30 minutes per day of sedentary behavior, 1.05 [95% CI 0.99-1.12]) and in the normoglycemia group (HR, 1.07 [95% CI 0.98-1.16]).

In this cohort study of US Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic adults, lower moderate to vigorous PA levels were associated with CVD or mortality among participants with normoglycemia but not participants with prediabetes. Adults with prediabetes may benefit from reducing sedentary behavior and improving multiple lifestyle factors beyond improving moderate to vigorous PA alone.