Associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with vascular health phenotypes in older adults: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Frontiers in physiology Vol. 14; p. 1096139
• Main Authors: de Sousa, Maria Karolina Ferreira, Silva, Raíssa de Melo, Freire, Yuri Alberto, Souto, Gabriel Costa, Câmara, Marcyo, Cabral, Ludmila Lucena Pereira, Macêdo, Geovani Araújo Dantas, Costa, Eduardo Caldas, Oliveira, Ricardo Santos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 15-05-2023
• Subjects: 6-min walk test; accelerometry; cardiovascular diseases; intima-media thickness; Physiology; pulse wave velocity; accelerometry; intima-media thickness; cardiovascular diseases; 6-min walk test; pulse wave velocity
• ISSN: 1664-042X; 1664-042X
• DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1096139

We investigated the associations between physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with vascular health phenotypes in community-dwelling older adults.
This cross-sectional study included 82 participants (66.8 ± 5.2 years; 81% females). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed using accelerometers, and CRF was measured using the distance covered in the 6-min walk test (6MWT). The vascular health markers were as follows: i) arterial function measured as aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) estimated using an automatic blood pressure device; and ii) arterial structure measured as the common carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Using a combination of normal cIMT and aPWV values, four groups of vascular health phenotypes were created: normal aPWV and cIMT, abnormal aPWV only, abnormal cIMT only, and abnormal aPWV and cIMT. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the beta coefficients (
) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) adjusting for BMI, and medication for diabetes, lipid, and hypertension, sex, age, and blood pressure.
Participants with abnormal aPWV and normal cIMT (β = -53.76; 95% CI = -97.73--9.78 m;
= 0.017), and participants with both abnormal aPWV and cIMT (β = -71.89; 95% CI = -125.46--18.31 m;
= 0.009) covered less distance in the 6MWT, although adjusting for age, sex and blood pressure decreased the strength of the association with only groups of abnormal aPWV and cIMT covering a lower 6MWT distance compared to participants with both normal aPWV and cIMT (β = -55.68 95% CI = -111.95-0.59;
= 0.052). No associations were observed between MVPA and the vascular health phenotypes.
In summary, poor CRF, but not MVPA, is associated with the unhealthiest vascular health phenotype (abnormal aPWV/cIMT) in older adults.