Is Self-Reported Physical Activity Participation Associated with Lower Health Services Utilization among Older Adults? Cross-Sectional Evidence from the Canadian Community Health Survey

Table 5

The association between LTPA and health services utilization in the 65 to 79 years age group ( = 20,183).

	65 to 79 years age group
	Unadjusted			Adjusted
	OR/IRR^a	(95% C.I.)	Sig	OR/IRR	(95% C.I.)	Sig
GP services
At least 1 GP contact
Moderately active	1.13	(0.97–1.32)	0.122	1.13	(0.95–1.34)	0.173
Active	0.84	(0.72–0.97)	0.016	0.99	(0.82–1.21)	0.959
Number of GP consultations^a
Moderately active	0.86	(0.81–0.90)	<0.001	0.96	(0.92–1.01)	0.123
Active	0.77	(0.72–0.82)	<0.001	0.96	(0.90–1.01)	0.122
Specialist physician services^*
At least 1 specialist contact
Moderately active	0.96	(0.87–1.06)	0.427	1.03	(0.90–1.18)	0.658
Active	0.93	(0.83–1.04)	0.217	1.13	(0.98–1.31)	0.098
Number of specialist consultations^a
Moderately active	0.81	(0.73–0.91)	<0.001	1.02	(0.90–1.15)	0.780
Active	0.80	(0.71–0.90)	<0.001	1.02	(0.91–1.15)	0.709
Hospital services^†
Overnight hospitalization
Moderately active	0.67	(0.57–0.78)	<0.001	0.90	(0.76–1.07)	0.229
Active	0.57	(0.49–0.66)	<0.001	0.82	(0.68–0.98)	0.032
Number of nights in hospital^a
Moderately active	0.85	(0.62–1.17)	0.328	0.97	(0.77–1.22)	0.795
Active	0.72	(0.52–1.01)	0.058	0.93	(0.71–1.22)	0.589

The estimate is an incidence rate ratio (IRR).
Note: analyses adjusted for (reference category in italics) the following: age; sex (male/female); marital status (married: yes/no); education (graduated secondary: yes/no); ethnicity (non-Aboriginal/Aboriginal); employment status (employed: no/yes); household size (1, 2, 3, or more people); dwelling size (<3 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, >3 bedrooms); immigration status (nonimmigrant, immigrant); injury in previous 12 months (no/yes); limitation in ADLs (no/yes); smoking status (never smoked/former smoker/nonsmoker); exposed to 2nd hand smoke (no/yes); alcohol consumption (<1 drink daily/at least 1 drink daily); BMI (<25.0 kg·m²/25.0–29.9 kg·m²/≥30 kg·m² or greater); time spent walking to work or to run errands (none/<1 hour/≥1 hour); cycling to work or to run errands (no/yes); typical daily activity level (usually sitting/standing or walking/lifting light and/or heavy loads); annual household income (<$15,000; $15,000–$29,999; ≥$30,000; missing); province (ON, MB, AB, BC, SK, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT/NT/NU); urban-rural classification (urban/rural); language (able to speak English and/or French: yes/no); has regular family doctor (yes/no); self-rated general health (excellent/very good/good; fair/poor); self-rated mental health (excellent/very good/good; fair/poor); diagnosed with hypertension, cardiovascular disease (including stroke), COPD, asthma, diabetes, cancer, neurological conditions, rheumatological conditions, back problems, gastrointestinal disorders, mood/anxiety disorders, or other chronic conditions (no/yes for each); number of chronic conditions (none/1 condition/2 conditions/3 conditions/4 or more conditions).
^*Analyses of specialist services also adjusted for number of GP consultations.
^†Analyses of hospital services also adjusted for specialist physician consultations (yes/no).