Associations of cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and BMI with arterial health in middle‐aged men and women

• Published in: Physiological reports Vol. 8; no. 10; pp. e14438 - n/a
• Main Authors: Haapala, Eero A., Lee, Earric, Laukkanen, Jari A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.05.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Arterial stiffness; Arteries - physiology; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; Body weight; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Exercise; Exercise - physiology; Female; Fitness; Humans; Male; Obesity; Obesity - physiopathology; Original Research; Overweight; Oxygen Consumption; Physical activity; Physical training; Physiology; Pulse Wave Analysis - methods; Risk Factors; Studies; Vascular Stiffness; Veins & arteries; Velocity; Finland; Obesity; Exercise; Arterial stiffness; Fitness
• ISSN: 2051-817X
• DOI: 10.14814/phy2.14438

We investigated the associations of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), physical activity (PA) with regard to aerobic and resistance training, and body mass index (BMI) with pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) in middle‐aged adults with at least one cardiovascular risk factor. A total of 84 (46 men and 38 women) participated in the study. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using a maximal graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer and was defined as maximal power output (Wmax) normalized for body weight‐0.35. Participation in aerobic and resistance training was assessed by a detailed questionnaire and BMI was calculated as weight (kg)/[height (m2)]. Pulse wave velocity and AIx were measured using an applanation tonometry before (pre), immediately after (post), and after 10 min (post10) of maximal exercise test. Cardiorespiratory fitness, PA, or BMI was not associated with PWV or AIx. Pulse wave velocity decreased significantly from pre to post10 among those in the highest third of CRF (mean difference=−0.793 m/s, 95% CI = −1.494 to −0.091, p = .023) and in normal weight participants (p = .084 for time*group interaction mean difference=−0.781 m/s, 95% CI = −1.496 to −0.066, p = .029), but not among those in the other thirds of CRF or overweight or obese participants. Participants who had regular resistance training had continuously higher AIx from pre to post10 than those who had no regular resistance training (mean difference = −1.98, 95% CI = −4.02 to 0.069, p = .058). In conclusion, exercise may decrease PWV and AIx. Our results suggest that positive arterial responses to exercise could be slightly improved in fit and normal weight individuals. Arterial stiffness and impaired arterial dilatation capacity are one of the first signs of cardiovascular diseases. We found that exercise may decrease arterial stiffness and improve arterial dilatation. Our study also suggests that cardiovascular responses to exercise may be improved in fit and normal weight individuals.