title: Life-long physical activity involvement and the risk of ischemic stroke in southern china.
abstract: A case-control study was conducted in southern China to investigate the relationship between life-long physical activity involvement and the risk of ischemic stroke. Information on life-long physical activity exposure and other lifestyle characteristics was obtained from 374 incident stroke patients and 464 hospital-based controls using a validated and reliable questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between life-long physical activity involvement and the ischemic stroke risk. The control subjects reported more involvement in physical activity over the life course than the stroke patients (P < .001). The risk of ischemic stroke was inversely associated with life-long physical activity exposure, with adjusted odds ratio 0.39 (95% confidence interval 0.25 to 0.59) for participants who had always been involved relative to those who have never been much involved. The dose-response relationship was also significant (P < .001). Therefore, being active life long should be encouraged to prevent this major chronic disease.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box U 1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Andy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang