Trends and Costs Associated With Suboptimal Physical Activity Among US Women With Cardiovascular Disease

Importance: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability among women. Achievement of recommended physical activity (PA) levels is an essential component of CVD management. Objective: To describe trends, sociodemographic factors, and health care expenditures associated with suboptimal PA among a nationally representative sample of US women with CVD. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used serial data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey from 2006 through 2015. The analyses were conducted in August 2018. Women who had self-reported and/or International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, diagnosis of CVD were included. Main Outcomes and Measures: Recommended PA was defined as 30 minutes or more of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise, 5 or more days per week. Weighted logistic regression was used to examine the associations of various sociodemographic factors with suboptimal PA, adjusted for comorbidities. A 2-part econometric model was used to assess health care expenditures. Results: A total of 18 027 women were included in this study. The results were weighted to provide estimates for approximately 19.5 million adult women in the United States with CVD (mean [SD] age, 60.4 [16.9] years). More than half of the women with CVD reported suboptimal PA, a trend that increased during the 10-year period, with 58.2% (95% CI, 55.9%-60.5%) of participants reporting suboptimal PA in 2006-2007 vs 61.9% (95% CI, 59.7%-64.2%) in 2014-2015 (P = .004). The proportion of women with suboptimal PA differed by sociodemographic factors. In adjusted models, compared with non-Hispanic white women, African American women (odds ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.08-1.38) and Hispanic women (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13-1.58) were more likely to have suboptimal PA. Women from low- or very low-income strata (compared with high-income strata), enrolled in public insurance (compared with private insurance), and with less than high school education (compared with at least some college education) were more likely to have suboptimal PA. Health care costs among women with CVD with suboptimal PA were higher compared with those among women who met the recommended PA, and this increased through time, from a mean total health care expenditure of $12 724 (95% CI, $11 627-$13 821) in 2006-2007 to $14 820 (95% CI, $13 521-$16 119) in 2014-2015. Conclusions and Relevance: The proportion of women with CVD not meeting recommended PA is high and increasing, particularly among certain racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups, and is associated with significant health care costs. More must be done to improve PA for secondary prevention and reduction of expenditures among women with CVD.