Association of Visiting the Physiotherapist with Mortality in the Spanish General Population: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Rauf Nouni-García,
Álvaro Carbonell-Soliva,
Domingo Orozco-Beltrán,
Adriana López-Pineda,
María Isabel Tomás-Rodríguez,
Vicente F. Gil-Guillén,
José A. Quesada,
Concepción Carratalá-Munuera
Affiliations
Rauf Nouni-García
Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante, General University Hospital of Alicante, Diagnostic Center, Fifth Floor, Pintor Baeza Street, 12, 03110 Alicante, Spain
Álvaro Carbonell-Soliva
Clinical Medicine Department, School of Medicine, University of Miguel Hernández de Elche, Ctra, Nacional N-332 s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Domingo Orozco-Beltrán
Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Adriana López-Pineda
Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
María Isabel Tomás-Rodríguez
Pathology and Surgery Department, School of Medicine, University of Miguel Hernández de Elche, Ctra, Nacional N-332 s/n, 03550 Alicante, Spain
Vicente F. Gil-Guillén
Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante, General University Hospital of Alicante, Diagnostic Center, Fifth Floor, Pintor Baeza Street, 12, 03110 Alicante, Spain
José A. Quesada
Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Concepción Carratalá-Munuera
Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Background and Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective population-based cohort study was to analyse the association between attendance of physiotherapy with mortality in the Spanish general population and describe the profile of people who do not visit a physiotherapist in Spain. Material and Methods: The data sources were the 2011/2012 National Health Survey (ENSE11) and the national database of death in Spain, and the participants were all adult respondents in the ENSE11. Results: Of 20,397 people, 1101 (5.4%) visited the physiotherapist the previous year, and the cumulative incidence of total mortality was 5.4% (n = 1107) at a mean follow-up of 6.2 years. Visiting the physiotherapist was associated with lower all-cause mortality in the population residing in Spain, quantified at 30.1% [RR = 0.699; 95% CI (0.528–0.927); p = 0.013]. The factors associated with not visiting a physiotherapist were the following: rating one’s health as good (9.8%; n = 1017; p p p p Conclusions: Visiting a physiotherapist was associated with a lower mortality from all causes in the population living in Spain.
