A cross-sectional study on the association between physical activity and the risk of colon cancer based on NHANES 2007-2018.

Colon cancer poses a significant threat to global health, and studies have shown a correlation between physical activity (PA) and the incidence of colon cancer. However, existing research has not quantitatively analyzed PA to evaluate its impact on the risk of colon cancer comprehensively. Data related to the study were obtained from the NHANES database for participants aged 20 and above between 2007 and 2018. Calculate the daily total metabolic equivalent (MET) based on the duration of different physical activities for each participant, use multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between PA and colon cancer risk, perform subgroup analysis to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between different subgroups, and use RCS regression analysis to evaluate the non-linear relationship between MET and colon cancer risk. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the overall data of the participants in this study, the OR of the low PA group (PA ≤ 120MET/day) was 1.224 (95% CI 1.031-1.453, P = 0.023), the OR of the mild PA group (120 < PA ≤ 600MET/day) was 1.026 (95%CI 0.707-1.488, P = 0.894), the OR of the moderate intensity PA group (600 < PA ≤ 1200MET/day) was 0.798 (95% CI 0.506-1.258, P = 0.334), and the OR of the high-intensity PA group (PA > 1200MET/day) was 0.470 (95% CI 0.249-0.885, P = 0.022), these results are consistent in subgroup analysis. The RCS regression analysis results showed a significant nonlinear relationship between MET and the risk of colon cancer(p < 0.001), with an inflection point observed at 1879 MET/day on the correlation curve. Low physical activity increases the risk of colon cancer, while moderate to high-intensity physical activity can reduce the risk of colon cancer. The results of this study emphasize the importance of maintaining appropriate physical activity as a healthy way to prevent colon cancer.