Abstract B068: The association between physical activity and alcohol use in midlife and older Black adults residing in a persistent poverty area

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) has been consistently positively associated with alcohol use, but this association has primarily been found in college students and adults <50 years old. As physical inactivity and alcohol use contribute to cancer risk, it is important to understand the association between these two health behaviors among midlife and older adults residing in underserved areas, where resources may be limited. This study explored the association between alcohol use and PA among midlife and older Black adults residing in under-resourced areas. Method: This study is a secondary data analysis from the Partnering to Prevent Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease study, which sought to identify risk factors for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease among midlife and older Black adults. This study was completed as a part of the Acres Homes Cancer Prevention Collaboration (Acres Homes CPC), which sought to address persistent poverty in the context of cancer and improve cancer outcomes in the community of Acres Homes. Black adults who were ≥45 years old, had a body mass index (BMI) ≥25.0 kg/m2, were insufficiently active (self-reported <90 min/week of PA), and sedentary (self-reported sitting ≥6 hours/day) were eligible to participate. Participants completed the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire to assess weekly leisure-time activity (WLA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and the PROMIS Alcohol Use Short Form (T-score) to assess alcohol use. Linear regression was used to explore associations between alcohol use and PA. Results: Participants (N=50) were in their mid-60s (M age=66.6±9.0 years) and overweight on average (M BMI=29.9±12.2 kg/m2). Most participants were female (78.0%), had not completed college (59.2%), and reported an annual household income <$50,000 (50.0%). Half (50.0%) of participants were insufficiently active/sedentary (WLA <14), and 34% were active (WLA ≥24; M WLA=27.3±62.4). On average, participants did 78.1 minutes/week of MVPA (SD=133.9, range 0-675 minutes/week). Half (50.0%) of participants reported no alcohol use in the past 30 days, and 100.0% of those who reported alcohol use were above the population mean T-score of 50.0 (M=74.3±3.9, range=60.9-76.6). Linear regression analyses showed a statistically significant negative association between alcohol use and WLA (B=-2.9, SE=1.1 , p=.013). Alcohol use was not significantly associated with MVPA. Conclusions: In our study of mid-life Black adults, most did not meet PA recommendations. Although only half reported alcohol use, those who drank reported more alcohol consumption compared to the average population. Furthermore, higher alcohol use was associated with lower PA, which contributes to elevated cancer and Alzheimer’s disease risk among people living in persistent poverty neighborhoods. Additional research is needed to explore the moderating effect of socioeconomic status on the association between alcohol use and PA to better understand how it contributes to health behaviors and cancer and disease risk among Black adults residing in persistent poverty areas. Citation Format: Dongjie Wu, Xavier Brown, Lisa Lowenstein, Lorna McNeill, Karen Basen-Engquist, Ruth Rechis, Scherezade Mama. The association between physical activity and alcohol use in midlife and older Black adults residing in a persistent poverty area [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B068.