This is addressed in the full text, which you can find on a certain hub.
>The inverse association persisted in the subgroups defined by age, geographical location, follow-up duration and devices used for counting steps, as well as after adjustments were made for important confounders including body mass index, alcohol drinking, smoking status, step intensity, and pre-existing comorbidities
>These findings were supported by the findings of intervention studies wherein increasing steps per day resulted in significant improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors [41, 42].
>The inverse association persisted in the subgroups defined by age, geographical location, follow-up duration and devices used for counting steps, as well as after adjustments were made for important confounders including body mass index, alcohol drinking, smoking status, step intensity, and pre-existing comorbidities