Association of Membership at a Medical Fitness Facility With Adverse Health Outcomes.

Introduction: Interventions that increase physical activity behavior can reduce morbidity and prolong life, but long-term effects in large populations are unproven. This study investigates the association of medical fitness facility membership and frequency of attendance with all-cause mortality and rate of hospitalization.

Methods: A propensity weighted retrospective cohort study was conducted by linking individuals who attended medical fitness facilities in Winnipeg, Canada to provincial health administrative databases. Members aged ≥18 years who had ≥1 year of provincial health coverage from their index date between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015 were included. Controls were assigned a pseudo-index date at random on the basis of the frequency distribution of index dates in the intervention group. Members were stratified into low-frequency attenders (<1 weekly visit), moderate-frequency attenders (1-3 weekly visits), and high-frequency attenders (>3 weekly visits). The primary outcomes were time to all-cause mortality and rate of hospitalizations. Statistical analyses were performed between 2018 and 2020.

Results: Among 19,300 adult members and 515,810 controls, members had a 60% lower risk of all-cause mortality during the first 651 days and 48% after 651 days. Membership was associated with a 13% lower risk of hospitalizations. A dose-response effect was apparent because higher weekly attendance was associated with a lower risk of hospitalizations (low frequency: 9%, moderate frequency: 20%, high frequency: 39%).

Conclusions: Membership at a medical fitness facility was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and hospitalizations. Healthcare systems should consider the medical fitness model as a preventative public health strategy to encourage physical activity participation.