Is Self-Reported Physical Activity Participation Associated with Lower Health Services Utilization among Older Adults? Cross-Sectional Evidence from the Canadian Community Health Survey

Table 7

The association between differing levels of typical daily activity^a and health services utilization, stratified by age.

	50 to 64 years			65 to 79 years			80 years and older
	= 29,914			= 20,183			= 6,555
	OR/IRR^b	95% CI		OR/IRR^b	95% CI		OR/IRR^b	95% CI
General physician services
At least 1 contact with a GP
Standing or walking	1.13	(0.96–1.32)	0.143	1.19	(0.96–1.47)	0.107	0.73	(0.50–1.07)	0.104
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.90	(0.76–1.06)	0.221	0.77	(0.61–0.98)	0.030	0.77	(0.46–1.28)	0.312
Number of GP consultations^b
Standing or walking	0.97	(0.92–1.02)	0.298	0.97	(0.92–1.02)	0.239	0.89	(0.81–0.99)	0.027
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.91	(0.86–0.97)	0.002	0.87	(0.82–0.93)	<0.001	0.84	(0.73–0.95)	0.006
Specialist physician services
At least 1 contact with a specialist
Standing or walking	0.95	(0.85–1.06)	0.366	0.88	(0.77–1.00)	0.048	0.85	(0.68–1.07)	0.169
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.85	(0.75–0.97)	0.020	0.86	(0.74–1.01)	0.065	0.72	(0.52–0.99)	0.041
Number of specialist consultations^b
Standing or walking	0.80	(0.70–0.93)	0.002	0.86	(0.75–0.98)	0.023	0.76	(0.63–0.92)	0.005
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.74	(0.64–0.86)	<0.001	0.82	(0.71–0.95)	0.006	0.66	(0.50–0.88)	0.005
Hospital services
Overnight hospitalization
Standing or walking	0.93	(0.77–1.12)	0.431	0.85	(0.72–1.01)	0.060	0.80	(0.62–1.03)	0.081
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.88	(0.70–1.09)	0.243	0.68	(0.56–0.84)	<0.001	0.92	(0.64–1.34)	0.678
Number of nights in hospital^b
Standing or walking	0.78	(0.64–0.94)	0.008	0.84	(0.68–1.03)	0.095	0.78	(0.59–1.02)	0.072
Lifting light/heavy loads	0.85	(0.67–1.09)	0.204	0.58	(0.45–0.76)	<0.001	0.52	(0.36–0.76)	0.001

Typical daily activity is a 3-level categorical variable describing respondents’ usual level of daily activity outside of LTPA. The reference group (not shown in table) is “usually sitting.”
The estimate is an incidence rate ratio (IRR).
Note: adjusted for (reference category in italics) the following: age; sex (male/female); marital status (married: yes/no); education (graduated secondary: yes/no); ethnicity (non-Aboriginal/Aboriginal); employment status (employed: no/yes); household size (1, 2, 3, or more people); dwelling size (<3 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, >3 bedrooms); immigration status (nonimmigrant, immigrant); injury in previous 12 months (no/yes); limitation in ADLs (no/yes); smoking status (never smoked/former smoker/nonsmoker); exposed to 2nd hand smoke (no/yes); alcohol consumption (<1 drink daily/at least 1 drink daily); BMI (<25.0 kg·m²/25.0–29.9 kg·m²/≥30 kg·m² or greater); time spent walking to work or to run errands (none/<1 hour/≥1 hour); cycling to work or to run errands (no/yes); typical daily activity level (usually sitting/standing or walking/lifting light and/or heavy loads); annual household income (<$15,000; $15,000–$29,999; ≥$30,000; missing); province (ON, MB, AB, BC, SK, QC, Other ); urban-rural classification (urban/rural); language (able to speak English and/or French: yes/no); has regular family doctor (yes/no); self-rated general health (excellent/very good/good; fair/poor); self-rated mental health (excellent/very good/good; fair/poor); diagnosed with hypertension, cardiovascular disease (including stroke), COPD, asthma, diabetes, cancer, neurological conditions, rheumatological conditions, back problems, gastrointestinal disorders, mood/anxiety disorders, or other chronic conditions (no/yes for each); number of chronic conditions (none/1 condition/2 conditions/3 conditions/4 or more conditions); number of GP consultations.