Economic impact of moderate-vigorous physical activity among those with and without established cardiovascular disease: 2012 medical expenditure panel survey

Background--physical activity (pa) has an established favorable impact on cardiovascular disease (cvd) outcomes and quality of life. in this study,we aimed to estimate the economic effect of moderate-vigorous pa on medical expenditures and utilization from a nationally representative cohort with and without cvd. methods and results--the 2012 medical expenditure panel survey data were analyzed. our study population was limited to noninstitutionalized us adults ≥18 years of age. variables of interest included cvd (coronary artery disease,stroke,heart failure,dysrhythmias,or peripheral artery disease) and cardiovascular modifiable risk factors (crfs; hypertension,diabetes mellitus,hypercholesterolemia,smoking,and/or obesity). two-part econometric models were utilized to study cost data; a generalized linear model with gamma distribution and link log was used to assess expenditures per capita. the final study sample included 26 239 surveyed individuals. overall,47% engaged in moderate-vigorous pa ≥30 minutes,≥5 days/week,translating to 111.5 million adults in the united states stratifying by cvd status; 32% reported moderate-vigorous pa among those with cvd versus 49% without cvd. generally,participants reporting moderate-vigorous pa incurred significantly lower health care expenditures and resource utilization,displaying a step-wise lower total annual health care expenditure as moving from cvd to non-cvd (and each crf category). conclusions--moderate-vigorous pa ≥30 minutes,≥5 days/week is associated with significantly lower health care spending and resource utilization among individuals with and without established cvd. © 2016 the authors.