Health behaviours and potentially preventable hospitalisation: a prospective study of older Australian adults

OBJECTIVE Several studies have demonstrated the effects of health behaviours on risk of chronic diseases and mortality, but none have investigated their contribution to potentially preventable hospitalisation (PPH). We aimed to quantify the effects on risk of PPH of six health behaviours: smoking; alcohol consumption; physical activity; fruit and vegetables consumption; sitting time; and sleeping time. DESIGN/SETTING Prospective observational study in New South Wales, Australia. SUBJECTS 267,006 men and women aged 45 years and over. OUTCOME MEASURES PPH admissions and mortality during follow-up according to individual positive health behaviours (non-smoking, <14 alcoholic drinks per week, ≥ 2.5 hours of physical activity per week, ≥ 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables per day,