Effects of regular aerobic exercise on brachial ankle pulse wave velocity in middle-aged and elderly people / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effects of regular aerobic exercise on brachial ankle pulse wave velocity(baPWV)in middle-aged and elderly people.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study.A total of 7993 subjects receiving health examination at the Taihu Sanatorium of Jiangsu Province were enrolled, including 4 371 males and 3 622 females, with an average age of 55.8 years(±7.9).Information on exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, baPWV, blood pressure, resting heart rate, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and uric acid in all subjects were collected and recorded.Based on exercise habits, subjects were divided into the no exercise group(n=489), the occasional exercise group(n=3 222, exercise<3 times or<90 min per week)and regular exercise group(n=4 282, exercise 3-5 times or >90 min per week).Results:For male subjects, differences in baPWV between the no exercise group(1 747.37±346.07 cm/s), the occasional exercise group(1 486.77±195.15 cm/s)and the regular exercise group(1 449.77±219.50 cm/s)were statistically significant( P<0.05).For female subjects, difference in baPWV between the no exercise group(1865.05±120.19)cm/s, the occasional exercise group(1 593.18±332.51)cm/s and the regular exercise group(1 227.81±150.89)cm/s were also statistically significant( P<0.05).With increased time of exercise per week, the levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, fasting blood glucose, TG and uric acid in different exercise groups decreased gradually for both men and women.Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that exercise, alcohol consumption, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose were independent risk factors for baPWV in men(all P<0.05)and that exercise, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate and fasting blood glucose were the independent risk factors for baPWV in women(all P<0.05).Trend analysis showed that with increased time of exercise per week, the rate of abnormal baPWV decreased gradually in both men and women( χ2 values were 74.67 and 1545.54, respectively, P<0.01). Conclusions:Regular aerobic exercise can improve baPWV, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, fasting blood glucose, TG and uric acid in middle-aged and elderly people.Exercise is an independent influencing factor for baPWV in middle-aged and elderly people and exercise 3-5 times or more than 90 min per week is beneficial to cardiovascular health in middle-aged and elderly people.