Influence of cardiovascular risk burden on pulmonary function trajectory: role of physical and social activities

The impact of cardiovascular risk burden on long-term trajectories of pulmonary function (PF) remains unclear. We examined the association of cardiovascular risk burden assessed by Framingham general cardiovascular risk score (FGCRS) with PF decline and explored whether cardiovascular diseases (CVD), physical and social activities play a role in the association. Within the Rush Memory and Aging Project, 1,442 participants (mean age:79.83) were followed up to 22 years. FGCRS at baseline was calculated and categorized into tertiles. Composite PF was measured annually based on peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced vital capacity. We found that the highest FGCRS was associated with faster PF decline (β: -0.013, 95% CI: -0.023 to -0.003) compared with the lowest FGCRS. There were significant interactions between higher FGCRS and low level of physical/social activity (β: -0.014, 95% CI: -0.026 to -0.003)/(β: -0.020, 95% CI:-0.031 to -0.009) or CVD(β: -0.023, 95% CI:-0.034 to -0.011) compared to the low FGCRS with high level of physical/social activity or without CVD (P-interaction<0.05). Our results suggest that higher cardiovascular risk burden is associated with a faster PF decline, especially among people with CVD. High level of physical activity and social activity appears to mitigate this association.