Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 20;13(1):46.
doi: 10.1186/s13293-022-00456-w.

Association of physical activity with vascular aging in a population with intermediate cardiovascular risk, analysis by sex: MARK study

Leticia Gómez-Sánchez #  1 , Emiliano Rodríguez-Sánchez #  2   3   4   5 , Rafel Ramos  6   7   8 , Ruth Marti  5   6   7 , Marta Gómez-Sánchez  2 , Cristina Lugones-Sánchez  2   5 , Olaya Tamayo-Morales  2   5 , Susana Gonzalez Sánchez  2   5 , Fernando Rigo  5   9 , Luis García-Ortiz #  2   3   5   10 , Manuel A Gómez-Marcos #  2   3   4   5 ; MARK Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Association of physical activity with vascular aging in a population with intermediate cardiovascular risk, analysis by sex: MARK study

Leticia Gómez-Sánchez et al. Biol Sex Differ. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the association of physical activity and its intensity with arterial stiffness and vascular aging and differences by sex in a Spanish population with intermediate cardiovascular risk.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. A total of 2475 individuals aged 35-75 years participated in the study. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was measured using a VaSera VS-1500® device. Based on the age and sex percentile presented by the participants, the latter were classified as follows: those with a percentile above 90 and presenting established cardiovascular disease were classified as early vascular aging (EVA); those with a percentile between 10 and 90 were classified as normal vascular aging (NVA) and those with a percentile below 10 were classified as healthy vascular aging (HVA). Physical activity was analyzed through the short version of the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (MLTPAQ).

Results: The mean age of the participants was 61.34 ± 7.70 years, with 61.60% men. Of the total sample, 86% were sedentary (83% men vs 90% women). The total physical activity showed a negative association with baPWV (β = - 0.045; 95% CI - 0.080 to - 0.009). Intense physical activity showed a negative relationship with baPWV (β = - 0.084; 95% CI - 0.136 to - 0.032). The OR of the total physical activity and the intense physical activity carried out by the subjects classified as NVA with respect to those classified as HVA was OR = 0.946; (95% CI 0.898 to 0.997) and OR = 0.903; (95% CI 0.840 to 0.971), and of those classified as EVA it was OR = 0.916; (95% CI 0.852 to 0.986) and OR = 0.905; (95% CI 0.818 to 1.000). No association was found with moderate- or low-intensity physical activity.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that, when intense physical activity is performed, the probability of presenting vascular aging is lower. In the analysis by sex, this association is only observed in men.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01428934.

Keywords: Physical activity; Spanish population; Vascular aging.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding bodies did not play any role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, or interpretation of data and writing.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Vascular aging status global and by sex in percentage. EVA early vascular aging, NVA normal vascular aging, HVA healthy vascular aging
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Vascular aging status according to total physical activity performed in percentage. METs/m/W, metabolic equivalents/min/week
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Farris SG, Abrantes AM. Mental health benefits from lifestyle physical activity interventions: a systematic review. Bull Menninger Clin. 2020;84(4):337–372. doi: 10.1521/bumc.2020.84.4.337. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Manferdelli G, La Torre A, Codella R. Outdoor physical activity bears multiple benefits to health and society. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2019;59(5):868–879. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08771-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Malm C, Jakobsson J, Isaksson A. Physical activity and sports-real health benefits: a review with insight into the public health of Sweden. Sports (Basel) 2019;7(5):127. doi: 10.3390/sports7050127. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pedersen BK, Saltin B. Exercise as medicine—evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015;25(Suppl 3):1–72. doi: 10.1111/sms.12581. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Warburton DER, Bredin SSD. Health benefits of physical activity: a systematic review of current systematic reviews. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2017;32(5):541–556. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000437. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data