Association of Visiting the Physiotherapist with Mortality in the Spanish General Population: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• physiotherapy
• mortality
• prevention