Regular exercise, even performed in areas with air pollution, can reduce the risk of death from natural causes, according to JCSPHPC’s new research in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
The large scale longitude study led by Professor Xiang Qian Lao was conducted between 2001 and 2016 with 384,130 adults in Taiwan. The team found that high levels of habitual exercise and low levels of PM2.5 exposure are associated with lowest risk of death and that habitual exercise reduced the risk of death across PM2.5 categories, compared to inactivity. The risk of natural death among the high exercise group with high PM2.5 is 33% less than the inactive group with high PM2.5.
“Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death regardless of exposure to air pollution, and air pollution generally increases the risk of death regardless of habitual exercise. Thus, habitual exercise should be promoted as a health improvement strategy, even for people residing in relatively polluted areas,” the authors concluded. Dr Guo Cui, a Postdoctoral Fellow of JCPHPC and the first author of the article, further added that indoor exercise is recommended when concentrations of air pollutants are severe.
Full article: https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.202729
【空氣較差都可做運動】運動期間呼吸急促，呼吸次數和深度均會增加，有機會吸入更多污染物。若居住於空氣污染較嚴重的地區，應怎樣權衡做運動和空氣污染的利害？學院一項涉及逾38萬人的大型長期研究顯示，即使在空氣污染相對嚴重的地區，恆常運動較不運動仍可減少自然死亡風險33%。
研究由學院勞向前副教授領導，博士後研究員郭萃博士為論文第一作者。團隊於2001至2016年間於台灣招募38萬多名成人，結果顯示，即使台灣的PM2.5濃度較世界衛生組織建議上限高1.6倍，有恆常運動的組別死亡風險仍然低於缺乏運動的組別。
研究亦發現，接觸較少PM2.5的人，死亡風險亦較低。綜觀所有因素，同時恆常運動及接觸較少PM2.5人士，死亡風險最低，他們比缺乏運動及接觸較高水平PM2.5的組別，死亡風險低46%。
勞向前教授表示，恆常運動可降低身體炎症反應水平，於空氣污染較嚴重的地區做運動，效益雖然未及空氣潔淨的地方，但比起不做運動仍可減低自然死亡風險。本港空氣污染程度與台灣相若，勞教授建議，若空氣質素健康指數(AQHI)屬中等，仍可安全在戶外做運動；若當天空氣污染較嚴重，則可考慮改到室內運動，以減少吸入污染物。
研究結果刊於《加拿大醫學會期刊》，全文：https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.202729
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