Ideal physical activity in association with incident ankylosing spondylitis: A community-based, prospective cohort study

Objective Only limited risk factors for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have been identified to date. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether cardiovascular health (CVH) behaviours and factors are associated with the risk of developing AS. Methods Patients with incident AS were identified in cohorts from two ongoing prospective studies. Assessments were made of the association of AS with individual baseline cardiovascular health lifestyle behaviours (including smoking status, body mass index, physical activity and diet) and cardiovascular health factors (including total cholesterol levels, blood pressure levels and fasting plasma glucose levels), and with a cardiovascular health metric determined by the number of ideal behaviours and factors. Cox regression analysis was used for the estimation of hazard ratios (HRs) for AS. Results Among 124,303 participants, incident AS was identified in 53 individuals within the 8 years of follow-up. For participants with ideal physical activity (>80 min/week) the HR was 0.21 (95% CI 0.05–0.89) compared with participants without ideal physical activity after adjusting for potential confounders. No significant risk of developing AS was associated with baseline smoking, diet, body mass index, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose or total cholesterol status, nor did cardiovascular health metrics. Conclusion Adherence to ideal physical activity may reduce the risk of developing AS.