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Daily walking is associated with lower mortality in older adults and those with heart failure. In this population-based study, researchers attempted to tease apart the specific contributions of step count and step intensity (steps per minute) to the association between walking and lowered mortality. As part of a national health-behavior survey, 4840 adults (age, ≥40) were asked to wear accelerometers (used to measure number and intensity of steps) for a mean of 14 hours daily for 6 days.
During a mean 10 years of follow-up, 1165 deaths occurred. In unadjusted analysis, participants who took more than 12,000 steps daily had lower mortality than those who took fewer than 4000 steps daily (5 vs. 77 deaths per 1000 person-years). After adjustmen…