title: Physical activity, stress, and self-reported upper respiratory tract infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is the most common reason for seeking primary care in many countries. Still, little is known about potential strategies to reduce susceptibility. We investigated the relationships between physical activity level, perceived stress, and incidence of self-reported URTI.
  
  
  METHODS
  we conducted a population-based prospective cohort study of 1509 Swedish men and women aged 20-60 yr with a follow-up period of 4 months. We used a Web-based questionnaire to assess disease status and lifestyle factors at the start of the study. We assessed physical activity and inactivity as total MET-hours (MET task) per day and perceived stress by the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale. Participants were contacted every 3 wk via e-mail to assess incidence of URTI. They reported a total of 1181 occurrences of URTI. We used Poisson regression models to control for age, sex, and other potential confounding factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  we found that high levels of physical activity (≥ 55 MET·h·d) were associated with an 18% reduced risk (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.69-0.98) of self-reporting URTI compared with low levels of physical activity (<45 MET·h·d). This association was stronger among those reporting high levels of stress (IRR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.43-0.78), especially among men (IRR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.24-0.59), but absent in the group with low levels of stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  we found that high physical activity was associated with a lower risk of contracting URTI for both men and women. In addition, we found that highly stressed people, particularly men, appear to benefit more from physical activity than those with lower stress levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SWEDEN. Elinor.Fondell@ki.se
authors.forename: Elinor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fondell
authors.forename: Ylva Trolle
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lagerros
authors.forename: Carl Johan
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sundberg
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lekander
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bälter
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Rothman
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bälter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult