Abstract Body: Introduction: Recreational physical activity (PA) is cardio-protective but often underutilized, and women in the general population engage less in leisure PA compared to men. Whether this disparity extends to individuals after a myocardial infarction (MI) in midlife, a high-risk group that may especially benefit from PA promotion, is unknown.
Methods: We recruited women and men ≤ 61 years of age who were hospitalized for MI in the previous 8 months in metropolitan Atlanta, balancing the number by sex. We evaluated leisure PA behavior with the validated, self-reported Baecke Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire. We constructed a linear mixed-effect model to estimate the association between gender and the PA leisure score, then adjusted sequentially for demographics (age, race, income, education), obesity status, and heart failure (Table).
Results: Our sample included 619 participants (46% women, 59% black) with mean age 51 years (SD: 7). On a Likert scale of 1 (least) to 5 (most), the mean (SD) PA leisure score was lower among women (2.4 (0.5)) compared to men (2.5 (0.5); p=<0.05). Walking was the most common leisure PA activity reported by both groups. In all models, we found that there was a statistically significantly lower PA leisure score for women compared to men (Table). More men than women reported they walked (31% vs. 22%), biked (8% vs. 2%), or played sports (10% vs. 2%) often or always during leisure time. Results remained similar when patients with poor functional capacity (defined using the Duke Activity Score Index) were excluded.
Discussion: Women reported significantly lower leisure PA as compared to men. Interventions and education about promoting PA, especially walking, should be considered in this patient population.