Higher Total Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Arterial Stiffness in Swedish, Young Adults: The Cross-Sectional Lifestyle, Biomarkers, and Atherosclerosis Study

Figures & data

Figure 1 Sampling procedure of the physical activity (PA) data in the Lifestyle, Biomarkers, and Atherosclerosis Study.

Table 1 Basic Characteristics in the Study Participants with Valid Physical Activity (PA) Data

	Women (n=478)		Men (n=180)		P-values
Age (years)	21.9	1.9	22.1	2.0	0.340
Height (cm)	168.6	6.2	181.6	6.5	<0.001
Weight^a (kg)	62.3	(56.1–68.1)	75.8	(69.8–83.7)	<0.001
BMI^a (kg/m^2)	21.7	(20.0–23.8)	22.7	(21.3–25.2)	<0.001
Body fat (%)	27.7	6.5	15.0	4.2	<0.001
Triglycerides^a (mmol/L)	0.7	(0.6–1.0)	0.7	(0.6–0.9)	0.406
HDL-C (mmol/L)	1.4	0.4	1.2	0.3	<0.001
Glucose (mmol/L)	4.9	0.3	5.1	0.3	<0.001
HOMA-IR^a	1.6	(1.1–2.2)	1.5	(1.1–2.0)	0.444
hs-CRP (mg/L)	0.7	(0.3–1.9)	0.6	(0.2–1.3)	<0.01
SBP (mmHg)	110	9	122	11	<0.001
DBP (mmHg)	64	6	64	7	0.352
MAP (mmHg)	80	7	85	7	<0.001
PWV (m/s)	5.2	0.7	5.5	0.9	<0.001
AIx_HR75	−5.0	9.7	−9.3	8.7	<0.001
Sedentary^a (min/day)	523	(481–565)	547	(506–593)	<0.001
LPA^a (min/day)	214	(187–244)	202	(176–231)	<0.01
MPA^a (min/day)	38	(28–51)	38	(27–47)	0.339
VPA^a (min/day)	3.3	(0.4–9.4)	2.9	(0.6–8.1)	0.152
MVPA^a (min/day)	45	(31–58)	44	(29–56)	0.527
Total PA^a (min/day)	263	(226–298)	249	(218–281)	<0.01
Steps^a (steps/day)	7796	(6123–9403)	7336	(5773–8749)	<0.05

Notes: Data are presented in women and men as mean and standard deviation (SD), and as ^amedian and interquartile range (Q1-Q3). Mean differences between the women and men were analyzed by unpaired Student t-test. Logarithms were made of skewed variables before the analyses. Level of significance was set at P<0.05.

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index, body fat, percentage of body fat; DBP, brachial diastolic blood pressure; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; hs-CRP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein; LPA, light-intensity physical activity; MAP, brachial mean arterial pressure; MPA, moderate-intensity physical activity; MVPA, moderate and vigorous physical activity; SBP, brachial systolic blood pressure; total PA, total physical activity (LPA+MVPA); VPA, vigorous-intensity physical activity.

Table 2 Distribution of Time Spent in Different Physical Activity Intensity Levels (Min/Day) and Steps per Day, in the Total Population, Divided in the Categories At Risk and Not At Risk According to Wildman’s Risk Score

Time Spent in PA Levels per Day	At Risk (n=68)	Not at Risk (n=590)	P values
Sedentary (min/day)	538 (481–588)	528 (484–572)	0.646
LPA (min/day)	203 (169–233)	211 (186–242)	<0.01
MVPA (min/day)	41 (27–57)	45 (31–57)	0.178
Total PA (min/day)	238 (213–283)	262 (226–296)	<0.01
Steps (steps/day)	7254 (5650–8699)	7625 (6077–9334)	0.062

Notes: Results (median and Q1–Q3) are presented in the total population at risk and not at risk according to Wildman’s risk score. Mean differences in time spent in different intensity levels (min/day) between study participants at risk and not at risk were analyzed with unpaired Student t-test. Level of significance was set at P<0.05.

Abbreviations: LPA, light-intensity physical activity; MVPA, moderate and vigorous physical activity; total PA, total physical activity (LPA+MVPA).

Figure 2 AIx_HR75 (Augmentation index adjusted to heart rate 75 beats/min) in the moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) categories not reaching 30 minutes MVPA per day (n=157), reaching 30 minutes MVPA per day (n=353), and reaching 60 minutes MVPA per day (n=144) in total population with valid physical activity data. Study participants who spent <30 minutes per day in MVPA had significantly higher AIx_HR75 than study participants who spent >60 minutes/day in MVPA, *P<0.05.

Table 3 Simple Linear Regression Coefficients (β) and Standardized β (Stand β) Between Regional Stiffness Measurements as Dependent Variables and Physical Activity Levels as Independent Variables, in Women and Men

	PWV (m/s)				AIx_HR75
Time Spent in PA Levels per Day	Women (n=478)		Men (n=180)		Women (n=478)		Men (n=180)
	β	Stand. β	β	Stand. β	β	Stand. β	β	Stand. β
Sedentary (min/day)	0.001	0.086	0.000	0.006	0.012	0.089	0.001	0.007
LPA (min/day)	−0.126	−0.038	−0.300	−0.089	−2.377	−0.053	−4.568	−0.134
MVPA (min/day)	−0.148	−0.104	0.011	0.007	−3.197**	−0.166**	−0.610	−0.037
Total PA (min/day)	−0.260	−0.076	−0.009	−0.088	−5.348	−0.116	−5.685	−0.153
Steps (steps/day)	−0.271	−0.128	−0.070	−0.030	−4.276*	−0.150*	−2.693	−0.115

Notes: Simple linear regression coefficients (unstandardized β) and standardized β are presented in women (n=478) and men (n=180) separately. Significance levels after Bonferroni correction; *P<0.0025, **P<0.0005.

Abbreviations: AIx_HR75, augmentation index adjusted to heart rate 75 bpm; LPA, light physical activity; MVPA, moderate and vigorous physical activity; PWV (m/s), pulse wave velocity; total PA, total physical activity (LPA+MVPA).