This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the association between stair climbing and cardiovascular outcomes — including cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease incidence (MI, ischaemic stroke, heart failure) — across 9 observational studies with 480,479 patients identified from PubMed and Embase up to April 2025.
Stair climbing was associated with a 39% reduction in cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.48–0.79, p = 0.0002) and a 24% reduction in all-cause mortality (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.94, p = 0.01) in pooled analysis of 5 studies (n = 455,619).
- All included studies were observational (cohort design), so causality cannot be established. - Three studies rated only "Fair" quality on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, introducing residual confounding risk. - Only 9 studies met inclusion criteria; cardiovascular morbidity outcomes (MI, stroke, heart failure) were not pooled quantitatively.
Encourage patients — especially sedentary ones — to incorporate stair climbing into daily routines at work and home, as even this modest activity is linked to meaningfully lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. No special equipment or gym access is required.
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