Aerobic fitness is associated with low cardiovascular disease risk: the impact of lifestyle on early risk factors for atherosclerosis in young healthy Swedish individuals - the Lifestyle, Biomarker, and Atherosclerosis study

• Published in: Vascular health and risk management Vol. 13; pp. 91 - 99
• Main Authors: Fernström, Maria, Fernberg, Ulrika, Eliason, Gabriella, Hurtig-Wennlöf, Anita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01-01-2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Aerobic exercises; aerobic fitness; Age Factors; Atherosclerosis; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Blood pressure; Body composition; Body fat; Cardiology; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Carotid Artery Diseases - blood; Carotid Artery Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Artery Diseases - epidemiology; Carotid Artery Diseases - prevention & control; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Cholesterol; cIMT; Complications and side effects; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; diet; diet and aerobic fitness; Dyslipidemias - blood; Dyslipidemias - epidemiology; Dyslipidemias - prevention & control; Exercise; Exercise Test; Fasting; Feeding Behavior; Food; Food habits; Hand Strength; Health aspects; Healthy Diet; Healthy Volunteers; Homeostasis; Humans; Inflammation; Insulin Resistance; Internet; Kardiologi; Lifestyles; Lipids; Medicin/Teknik; Medicine/Technology; Metabolic syndrome; Muscle Strength; Original Research; Physical fitness; Population; Prevalence; Prevention; Prognosis; Protective Factors; Questionnaires; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Risk Reduction Behavior; Society; Surveys and Questionnaires; Sweden - epidemiology; Systematic review; Teenagers; Time Factors; Veins & arteries; Young Adult; Sweden; Germany; aerobic fitness; cholesterol; cIMT; diet; insulin resistance; body fat
• ISSN: 1178-2048; 1176-6344; 1178-2048
• DOI: 10.2147/VHRM.S125966

The progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis is slow and develops over decades. In the cross-sectional Swedish Lifestyle, Biomarker, and Atherosclerosis study, 834 young, self-reported healthy adults aged 18.0-25.9 years have been studied to identify early risk factors for atherosclerosis.
The aims of this study were to 1) assess selected cardiometabolic biomarkers, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) as a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, and lifestyle-related indicators (food habits, handgrip strength, and oxygen uptake, VO
max); 2) analyze the associations between cIMT and lifestyle factors; and 3) identify subjects at risk of CVD using a risk score and to compare the characteristics of subjects with and without risk of CVD.
Blood samples were taken in a fasting state, and food habits were reported through a questionnaire. cIMT was measured by ultrasound, and VO
max was measured by ergometer bike test. The risk score was calculated according to Wildman.
cIMT (mean ± standard deviation) was 0.50±0.06 mm, and VO
max values were 37.8±8.5 and 42.9±9.9 mL/kg/min, in women and men, respectively. No correlation was found between aerobic fitness expressed as VO
max (mL/kg/min) and cIMT. Using Wildman's definition, 12% of the subjects were classified as being at risk of CVD, and 15% had homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. A total of 35% of women and 25% of men had lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than recommended. Food habits did not differ between those at risk and those not at risk. However, aerobic fitness measured as VO
max (mL/kg/min) differed; 47% of the subjects at risk had low aerobic fitness compared to 23% of the nonrisk subjects (
<0.001).
High aerobic fitness is associated with low CVD risk in Swedish young adults. The high prevalence of young adults observed with unfavorable levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance raises concerns about future CVD risk.