Profiles of physical activity and sedentary behaviour and their associations with health-related quality of life among adults and older adults in Japan

The association between combined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviour with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) remains unclear. This study examines their joint associations with HRQOL in adults and older adults. This cross-sectional study analysed self-reported MVPA time, sedentary time, Mental Component Summary (MCS) and Physical Component Summary (PCS) scores in 2,814 rural Japanese participants aged 20-90 years. Adults (20-64 years) and older adults (≥65 years) were classified into four activity profiles based on weekly MVPA and sedentary time. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between these profiles and HRQOL in both age groups. Using the high MVPA/low sedentary behaviour profile as a reference, adults with a low MVPA/high sedentary behaviour profile had the lowest MCS scores (unadjusted OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.59-0.99; adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.58-0.99) but the highest PCS scores (unadjusted OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.05-1.77; adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.98-1.67). Among older adults, those in the low MVPA/high sedentary behaviour profile had significantly lower odds of better PCS and MCS scores in both unadjusted and adjusted models (unadjusted PCS: OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.33-0.64; MCS: OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.37-0.78; adjusted PCS: OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.38-0.76; MCS: OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.41-0.89). The low MVPA/high sedentary behaviour profile was associated with poorer HRQOL in both adults and older adults compared to the high MVPA/low sedentary behaviour profile. These findings highlight the importance of increasing MVPA and reducing sedentary behaviour to improve HRQOL in these populations.