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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393320
Research Project: Personalized Nutrition and Healthy Aging

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Association between physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors: Dose and sex matter

Author
item SANTOS-LOZANO, ALEJANDRO - The Miguel De Cervantes European University
item TORRES BARRAN, ALBERTO - Institute Of Mathematical Sciences(ICMAT)
item FERNANDEZ-NAVARRO, PABLO - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item VALENZUELA, PEDRO - University Of Alcala
item CASTILLO-GARCIA, ADRIAN - Fostering Industrial Symbiosis For A Sustainable Resource Intensive Industry Across The Extended Co
item RUILOPE, LUIS - Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre
item RIOS INSUA, DAVID - Institute Of Mathematical Sciences(ICMAT)
item ORDOVAS, JOSE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item LEY, VICTORIA - Ministry Of Science And Innovation, Csic
item ALEJANDRO, LUCIA - Universidad Europea De Madrid

Submitted to: Journal of Sport and Health Science
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2021
Publication Date: 3/12/2021
Citation: Santos-Lozano, A., Cervantes, M., Fernandez-Navarro, P., Valenzuela, P.L., Castillo-Garcia, A., Ruilope, L.M., Rios Insua, D., Ordovas, J.M., Ley, V., Alejandro, L. 2021. Association between physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors: Dose and sex matter. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 10(5):604-606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2021.03.002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2021.03.002

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Failure to meet World Health Organization (WHO)-determined minimum physical activity (PA) levels is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but evidence is still scarce on its effects on most CVD risk factors. Furthermore, whether or not there are sex-specific effects on the association between PA and CVD risk is controversial. We studied the association between different PA levels and major CVD risk factors, along with potential sex effects in a European (Spanish) cohort of workers (n=527,662; 32% female; aged 18 +/-64 years) insured by a large occupational risk prevention company. Approximately one-half of the participants (47%) were free of the CVD risk factors studied, and 63.5%, 12.3%, and 24.2% were inactive, insufficiently active, and regularly active, respectively. Regression analyses for the whole cohort (both sexes combined) showed a significantly lower prevalence of all the studied CVD risk factors in those individuals who were regularly active compared with their inactive referents. We found a PA-dose benefit with a lower CVD risk in regularly active individuals when compared with their insufficiently active peers. The inverse association between CVD risk factors and regular activity (vs. inactivity) was confirmed in both sexes, with the exception of obesity in women. Barring hypertension, the benefits of PA (whether sufficient or insufficient) vs. inactivity against CVD risk factors appeared to be more marked in men than in women. In summary, despite the cross-sectional nature of the present study, our findings suggest that PA-especially but not exclusively when performed above WHO-recommended minimum levels-is associated with a lower prevalence of major CVD risk factors in a large cohort of European working adults. Some sex-specific trends were found, notably for obesity, which was not actually associated with PA in women.