December 1, 2001Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Arterial distensibility and physical activity in the ARIC study
Why the study?
Does habitual physical activity improve arterial distensibility in middle-aged adults free of cardiovascular disease?
Population
10,644 African-American and white men and women aged 45-64 years and free of cardiovascular disease
Comparison
Self-reported sport, leisure, and work physical… vs No or lower levels of physical activity
Design
Cohort
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
No strong support for vigorous activity improving arterial distensibility; challenges smaller prior studies and leaves open confirmation in prospective designs.
Key Points
- To evaluate whether self-reported sport, leisure, and occupational physical activity correlates with higher carotid arterial distensibility in middle-aged adults without cardiovascular disease.
- Cross-sectional evaluation within the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study involving 10,644 African-American and white men and women aged 45–64 years.
- Left common carotid arterial diameters and intimal-medial thickness (IMT) were measured using B-mode ultrasound.
- Associations between self-reported physical activity domains and pulsatile diameter changes were evaluated using ANCOVA models adjusted for cardiovascular and demographic covariates.
- Work-related physical activity exhibited a weak positive association with arterial distensibility (P for linear trend = 0.03), whereas overall sports and leisure activities showed no significant link.
- Vigorous sports participation was weakly associated with greater arterial diameter change (0.42 ± 0.004 mm vs. 0.41 ± 0.002 mm for any vs. no vigorous activity, P = 0.02), persisting after adjustment for IMT, BMI, lipid levels, and diabetes.
- Secondary analyses with traditional arterial stiffness indices confirmed findings for vigorous sports activity but not for occupational activity.
Structured PICO
Does habitual physical activity improve arterial distensibility in middle-aged adults free of cardiovascular disease?
P
Population
10,644 African-American and white men and women aged 45-64 years and free of cardiovascular disease
I
Intervention
Self-reported sport, leisure, and work physical activity
C
Comparator
No or lower levels of physical activity
O
Outcome
Arterial distensibility (carotid artery pulsatile diameter changes)surrogate
In a large cohort of middle-aged adults, habitual physical activity did not have a strong or consistent positive effect on arterial distensibility, contrasting with findings from smaller studies.
Cite This Study
Schmitz et al. (2001) studied this question.