Inactivity in Disabled Adults Linked to Increased Risk of Chronic Disease, CDC

Most adults with disability lack physical exercise and this puts them at an increased risk of chronic diseases like cancer, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that working age disabled adults who do not get any aerobic physical activity are 50 percent more likely to suffer from cancer, stroke or heart diseases when compared to their active peers.

 The report claims that nearly 47 percent of the adults with disabilities are in a position to perform certain aerobic physical activity.  Also 22 percent of them are not active.  And just 44 percent of the disabled adults visited a doctor in the past year and were counseled to get some physical exercise.

"Physical activity is the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Unfortunately; many adults with disabilities don't get regular physical activity.  That can change if doctors and other health care providers take a more active role helping their patients with disabilities develop a physical fitness plan that's right for them."

 A few benefits from aerobic physical activity include increased heart and lung function, enhanced performance in daily chores, less dependency, reduced risk of chronic diseases and an improved mental health.

The finding is based on the analysis of the data retrieved from the 2009-2012 National Health Interview Survey and focuses on the association between levels of physical activity and chronic diseases among U.S. adults.  The study participants were of ages 18-64. The researchers also looked at the duration of disability, status and also type of disability.  Most of the adults had difficulty walking, climbing stairs, hearing, seeing or concentrating, remembering or making decisions.

Using the 2010 data the researchers examined the frequency at which the participants sought medical recommendation for physical activity and the link with the level of aerobic physical activity.

The researchers saw that the there was a three-fold increase in chronic diseases among working age adults with disability. Fifty percent of them get no aerobic physical activity and inactive disabled adults were 50 percent more likely to report chronic diseases. There was a 82 percent chance for disabled adults to be physically active if the doctor recommended it.

"It is essential that we bring together adults with disabilities, health professionals and community leaders to address resource needs to increase physical activity for people with disabilities," said Coleen Boyle, Ph.D., M.S. hyg., director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.