A Cohort Study of Leisure Activities and Risk of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity in Elderly Chinese

Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) is the co-occurrence of 2 or more cardiometabolic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension. This study explores how leisure activities influence the risk of CMM in older Chinese adults using a prospective cohort database.The study analyzed 9,988 participants aged 65 and older from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), assessing CMM risk as the outcome. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the impacts of individual leisure activities on CMM risk, while a Restricted cubic spline (RCS) Cox regression model explored the dose-response relationship between activity diversity and CMM. Stratified analyses by age, gender, BMI, and residence were also conducted, and a sensitivity analysis was performed for robustness.Frequent housework (HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.70-0.89) and pet/livestock ownership (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.61-0.80) lowered CMM risk by 21% and 30%, respectively. However, frequent TV/radio viewing (HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03-1.34) raised CMM risk by 17%. There was no significant association between the activity diversity score and the risk of co-morbidities among the elderly (P for overall > 0.05), but activity diversity was associated with the risk of co-morbidities among the lower-aged (< 85 years) elderly group after age stratification (P for overall = 0.05). Activity diversity was also associated with the risk of co-morbidities in the rural elderly group (P for overall = 0.05).Regular housework and pet/livestock ownership reduced CMM risk in older adults, while TV/radio viewing increased it. The influence of leisure activities on CMM risk varied by age, gender, BMI and residence.