International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 28, 659-666, Copyright © 1999 by International Epidemiological Association
GB Mensink, T Ziese and FJ Kok
BACKGROUND: Intensity, frequency and duration of physical activity may
contribute in different ways to the maintenance of cardiovascular health.
Their relative importance may also change at different stages in life and
this should be taken into account for activity recommendations. METHODS:
The relationship of frequency and duration of leisure-time physical
activities with cardiovascular risk factors was studied in 4942 male and
5885 female participants aged 50-69, of the German Cardiovascular
Prevention Study (1984-1991). RESULTS: After adjustment for several
possible confounders, women with modest levels (2-12 times per month, 0.5-2
h per week) of moderate-to-vigorous activity (> or =5 kcal/kg/h) had
significantly lower systolic blood pressure (-1.8%), resting heart rate
(-3.1%) and body mass index (- 3.2%) values than sedentary women.
Beneficial differences increased with frequency and duration of activity.
Light activities (3-4.5 kcal/kg/h), conducted > or =5 times a week, were
significantly associated with favourable lower diastolic blood pressure
(-1.4%), resting heart rate (-2.3%) among women, and body mass index (women
- 2.9%, men -2.2%) among both genders. Recommended activity levels (> or
=5 times, > or =3.5 h weekly) were associated with a lower prevalence of
multiple risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.41-0.75 for men
and OR = 0.44 95% CI: 0.31-0.63 for women). CONCLUSIONS: For sedentary
elderly, even less physical activity than currently recommended, is likely
to improve the cardiovascular risk profile.
ARTICLES
Benefits of leisure-time physical activity on the cardiovascular risk profile at older age
Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany. MensinkG@rki.de
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