Dr. Villagran-Orellana, Marcelo

La práctica regular de actividad física (AF) se asocia a un número importante de beneficios sobre la salud, incluyendo la reducción de enfermedades cardiovasculares, diabetes mellitus tipo 2, hipertensión arterial, depresión, demencia y algunos tipos de cáncer, como de colon y mamas (Figura 1). Se estima que el 9% de mortalidad prematura por cualquier causa (equivalente a 5.3 millones de muertes por año), se podrían prevenir si la población cumpliera con las recomendaciones de AF, es decir, realizara al menos 150 minutos de AF de intensidad moderada o >75 minutos de AF de intensidad vigorosa por semana.

En Chile, datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2009-2010 (ENS 2009-2010) indican que 10,4% de la población mayor de 60 años presenta deterioro cognitivo, cifra que aumenta a 20,9% en personas de 80 años y más 1 . En este grupo existe un porcentaje importante de personas que viven con demencia y que, según estimaciones internacionales, alcanzan los 35 millones de personas en el mundo 2 y cerca de 200 mil en Chile 3 . Con el aumento progresivo de la expectativa de vida se prevé que estas cifras sigan incrementando con el subsecuente impacto social y económico, generando una amplia demanda por comprender los factores asociados a las enfermedades neurodegenerativas.

Objective: To investigate the association between a lifestyle score and all-cause mortality in the Chilean population. Design: Prospective study. Settings: The score was based on seven modifiable behaviours: salt intake, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, smoking, physical activity and sedentary behaviours. 1-point was assigned for each healthy recommendation. Points were summed to create an unweighted score from 0 (less healthy) to 7 (healthiest). According to their score, participants were then classified into: less healthy (0–2 points), moderately healthy (3–4 points) and the healthiest (5–7 points). Associations between the categories of lifestyle score and all-cause mortality were investigated using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for confounders. Nonlinear associations were also investigated. Participants: 2706 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009–2010. Results: After a median follow-up of 10·9 years, 286 (10·6 %) participants died. In the maximally adjusted model, and compared with the healthiest participants, those less healthy had 2·55 (95 % CI 1·75, 3·71) times higher mortality risk due to any cause. Similar trends were identified for the moderately healthy group. Moreover, there was a significant trend towards increasing the mortality risk when increasing unhealthy behaviours (hazard ratio model 3: 1·61 (95 % CI 1·34, 1·94)). There was no evidence of nonlinearity between the lifestyle score and all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Individuals in the less healthy lifestyle category had higher mortality risk than the healthiest group. Therefore, public health strategies should be implemented to promote adherence to a healthy lifestyle across the Chilean population.