Immigration and leisure-time physical inactivity: a population-based study

Objective. To investigate the relationship between migration status and sedentary leisure-time physical activity status in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Methods. The public health survey in 1994 is a cross-sectional study. A total of 5600 individuals aged 20-80 completed a postal questionnaire. The response rate was 71%. The population was categorized according to country of birth. Multivariate analysis was performed using a logistic regression model to investigate the importance of possible confounders for the differences in sedentary leisure-time physical activity status. Results. The prevalence of a sedentary leisure-time physical activity status was 18.1% among men and 26.7% among women. The odds ratio of a sedentary leisure-time physical activity status was significantly higher among men born in Arabic-speaking countries, in All other countries, and among women born in Yugoslavia, Poland, Arabic-speaking countries, and the category 'all other countries', compared to the reference group born in Sweden. The multivariate analysis including age, sex, and education did not alter these results. Conclusion. There were significant ethnic differences in leisure-time physical activity status. This is a CVD risk factor that could be affected by intervention programs aimed at specific ethnic subgroups of the population.