Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Timing of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and mortality risk: role of chronotype and sleep patterns
- Prospective cohort study
- accelerometry
- K-means clustering
Authors' conclusion
Among adults meeting MVPA guidelines, a midday-active pattern was associated with lower all-cause mortality independent of MVPA volume.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants aged 40–73 years with wrist-worn accelerometryUK Biobank
- Participants
- 75,509 participants
- Exposure
- Diurnal moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) timing patterns vs consistently active
- Outcome
- All-cause mortality
- Follow-up
- Median 8.7 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
All-cause mortality (guideline-adherent, adjusted for total MVPA volume)
Hazard ratio
0.79
95% CI 0.65–0.97
P = 0.022
Midday vs Consistently active
HR 0.79 (95% CI 0.65–0.97); P = 0.022
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Cancer and CVD mortality (guideline-adherent)
- Associations attenuated and not statistically significant; Fine-Gray competing-risk models similar
Mortality, active patterns vs inactive
- All active patterns associated with substantially lower mortality risk; largest reductions with midday pattern
Mortality by chronotype and sleep midpoint (stratified)
- Associations less consistent in evening chronotype and later sleep midpoint strata
Original publication
Timing of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and mortality risk: role of chronotype and sleep patterns. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 15 April 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag209
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it