04.03 LIFE-COURSE HABITUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ITS IMPACT ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS: THE AMSTERDAM GROWTH AND HEALTH LONGITUDINAL STUDY (AGAHLS)
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Purpose: To examine how the development over time (i.e. from adolescence to adulthood) of habitual physical activity (HPA) impacts on arterial stiffness (AS) of both the elastic carotid (CCA) and the muscular femoral (CFA) arteries in adulthood.
Methods: Longitudinal data on HPA (expressed in metabolic equivalents/week – METs/wk) were retrieved from the AGAHLS (n=373, 196 women, 8 follow-up measures between the ages of 13 and 36 yrs). AS (i.e. CCA and CFA distensibility and compliance coefficients and CCA’s Young’s elastic modulus) was assessed by non-invasive ultrasonography when subjects were 36 yrs old; a sex-specific AS score for each artery was calculated by averaging the height and MAP-adjusted z-scores of each of these estimates. Generalized estimating equations were used to compare the mean levels of HPA throughout the 24-yr follow-up period between those subjects with ‘stiffer’ (i.e. lowest quartile) vs. ‘normal’ (highest 3 quartiles of AS score) arteries at the age of 36.
Results: Compared to subjects with ‘normal’, those with ‘stiffer’ CCA and CFA arteries had spent, on average and throughout the longitudinal period, 376 and 500 less METs/week on HPA (corresponding to @ 9 to 12 min/day of light-to-moderate intensity bicycling), respectively (Table). Adjustments for other risk factors (RFs), in particular cardiopulmonary fitness, explained these differences to a large extent for the CCA, but other RFs may also explain the association between HPA and CFA stiffness.
| Model: adjustments | Stiff vs. normal CCA | Stiff vs. normal CFA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| β | 95% | CI | β | 95% | CI | |
| 1. time, sex, height, smoking, alcohol, energy intake | −376 | −724; | −27 | −500 | −839; | −161 |
| 2. + body fatness (sum of 4 skinfolds) | −317 | −668; | 34 | −471 | −810; | −132 |
| 3. + cardiopulmonary fitness (VO2max) | −172 | −510; | 166 | −386 | −712; | −60 |
| 4. + blood lipids (total−to−HDL cholesterol ratio) | −234 | −585; | 117 | −489 | −826; | −152 |
| 5. + resting heart rate | −328 | −670; | 15 | −461 | −794; | −128 |
| 6. + systolic blood pressure | −350 | −709; | 8 | −482 | −828; | −136 |
| 7. + all variables in models 2 to 6 | −145 | −490; | 201 | −422 | −750; | −93 |
Conclusion: Promoting increases in HPA during adolescence and throughout the course of life may prevent the development of AS, partially due to its beneficial effects on fitness and other cardiovascular RFs.
Cite this article
TY - JOUR AU - R.J.J. van de Laar AU - I. Ferreira AU - M.H. Prins AU - J.W.R. Twisk AU - C.D.A. Stehouwer PY - 2008 DA - 2008/09/15 TI - 04.03 LIFE-COURSE HABITUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ITS IMPACT ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS: THE AMSTERDAM GROWTH AND HEALTH LONGITUDINAL STUDY (AGAHLS) JO - Artery Research SP - 89 EP - 89 VL - 2 IS - 3 SN - 1876-4401 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2008.08.296 DO - 10.1016/j.artres.2008.08.296 ID - vandeLaar2008 ER -