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Habitual Physical Activity and Vascular Aging in a Young to Middle-Age Population at Low Cardiovascular Risk.

Kozakova, Michaela ; Palombo, Carlo ; Mhamdi, Leila ; Konrad, Thomas ; Nilsson, Peter LU ; Staehr, Peter Bisgaard ; Paterni, Marco and Balkau, Beverley (2007) In Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation 38(9). p.2549-2555
Abstract
Background and Purpose - Regular endurance exercise has been shown to reduce the age-related increase in arterial stiffness that is thought to contribute to cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age and habitual physical activity on carotid artery wall thickness and stiffness in a population of young to middle-age subjects at low cardiovascular risk. Methods - The study population consisted of 432 healthy subjects (166 men; mean +/- SD age, 43 +/- 8 years; range, 30 to 60 years) free of carotid atherosclerosis and with low coronary heart disease risk, as determined by the Framingham prediction score sheet. All subjects underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the extracranial carotid arteries and physical... (More)
Background and Purpose - Regular endurance exercise has been shown to reduce the age-related increase in arterial stiffness that is thought to contribute to cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age and habitual physical activity on carotid artery wall thickness and stiffness in a population of young to middle-age subjects at low cardiovascular risk. Methods - The study population consisted of 432 healthy subjects (166 men; mean +/- SD age, 43 +/- 8 years; range, 30 to 60 years) free of carotid atherosclerosis and with low coronary heart disease risk, as determined by the Framingham prediction score sheet. All subjects underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the extracranial carotid arteries and physical activity assessment by actigraph, an accelerometer capable of monitoring the intensity and duration of body movements. The intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery was measured on ultrasound images, along with systodiastolic changes in luminal diameter, and indices of carotid stiffness were calculated. Results - Intima-media thickness and carotid stiffness increased with age in both men and women (r = 0.24 to 0.52, P<0.001). The magnitude of objectively assessed daily physical activity was negatively related to indices of carotid stiffness (r from -0.20 to -0.25, P<0.001) but not to intima-media thickness. In multivariate regression analyses that included several cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, blood pressure, plasma lipids, and smoking habits, age and physical activity were independently related to carotid stiffness. Conclusions - This study provides cross-sectional evidence that habitual physical activity is inversely related to the age-dependent increase in carotid wall stiffness in a young to middle-age population at low risk. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
carotid arteries, aging, exercise, intima-mediathickness
in
Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation
volume
38
issue
9
pages
2549 - 2555
publisher
American Heart Association
external identifiers
  • wos:000249028400027
  • scopus:34548223690
ISSN
1524-4628
DOI
10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.484949
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2da13722-d1bf-4c20-a909-9ab4651e3adc (old id 540465)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17656659&dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:36:32
date last changed
2022-03-22 19:53:02
@article{2da13722-d1bf-4c20-a909-9ab4651e3adc,
  abstract     = {{Background and Purpose - Regular endurance exercise has been shown to reduce the age-related increase in arterial stiffness that is thought to contribute to cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age and habitual physical activity on carotid artery wall thickness and stiffness in a population of young to middle-age subjects at low cardiovascular risk. Methods - The study population consisted of 432 healthy subjects (166 men; mean +/- SD age, 43 +/- 8 years; range, 30 to 60 years) free of carotid atherosclerosis and with low coronary heart disease risk, as determined by the Framingham prediction score sheet. All subjects underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the extracranial carotid arteries and physical activity assessment by actigraph, an accelerometer capable of monitoring the intensity and duration of body movements. The intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery was measured on ultrasound images, along with systodiastolic changes in luminal diameter, and indices of carotid stiffness were calculated. Results - Intima-media thickness and carotid stiffness increased with age in both men and women (r = 0.24 to 0.52, P&lt;0.001). The magnitude of objectively assessed daily physical activity was negatively related to indices of carotid stiffness (r from -0.20 to -0.25, P&lt;0.001) but not to intima-media thickness. In multivariate regression analyses that included several cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, blood pressure, plasma lipids, and smoking habits, age and physical activity were independently related to carotid stiffness. Conclusions - This study provides cross-sectional evidence that habitual physical activity is inversely related to the age-dependent increase in carotid wall stiffness in a young to middle-age population at low risk.}},
  author       = {{Kozakova, Michaela and Palombo, Carlo and Mhamdi, Leila and Konrad, Thomas and Nilsson, Peter and Staehr, Peter Bisgaard and Paterni, Marco and Balkau, Beverley}},
  issn         = {{1524-4628}},
  keywords     = {{carotid arteries; aging; exercise; intima-mediathickness}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{2549--2555}},
  publisher    = {{American Heart Association}},
  series       = {{Stroke: a journal of cerebral circulation}},
  title        = {{Habitual Physical Activity and Vascular Aging in a Young to Middle-Age Population at Low Cardiovascular Risk.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.484949}},
  doi          = {{10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.484949}},
  volume       = {{38}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}