Published: Oct 29, 2013 | Updated: Oct 30, 2013
By Sarah Wickline , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/42556

Regardless of whether retirees participated in vigorous exercise, active leisure time was associated with better metabolic function and cardiovascular health in both men and women, researchers found.

During a 12.5-year follow-up period, seniors that participated in active leisure time had a 27% lower risk for cardiovascular events (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57-0.94), and a 30% lower risk for all-cause mortality (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53-0.98), compared with seniors that reported sedentary leisure time, according to Elin Ekblom-Bak, PhD, of Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, and colleagues.

“In the present study, a generally active daily life had important beneficial associations with cardiovascular health and longevity in older adults, which seemed to be regardless of regular exercise habits,” Ekblom-Bak and colleagues wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

From 1997 to 1999, the researchers invited one-third of the men and women in Stockholm County who were born from the summer of 1937 to the summer of 1938 to be a part of a health screening study. After health-related exclusions, 3,839 participants were given a physical exam, blood tests for LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin and fibrinogen, and a lifestyle survey.

The lifestyle survey included 24 questions designed to address various types and levels of physical and sedentary activities.

Throughout the 12.5-year follow-up period, 383 of the participants died from all causes, and 476 of the participants had a fatal or nonfatal first-time cardiovascular disease event.

Compared with low levels of non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) and no moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), metabolic syndrome at baseline decreased as levels of activity increased:

• No MVPA, moderate NEPA: OR for metabolic syndrome 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.98
• No MVPA, high NEPA: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58-0.95
• MVPA, low NEPA: OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50-0.89
• MVPA, moderate NEPA: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.97
• MVPA, high NEPA: OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.28-0.52

Compared with people who reported no MVPA and low NEPA, all of the more active groups had a higher probability of survival over the course of the follow-up period (P<0.0001).

Final analysis showed that, over the follow-up period, people who reported high levels of NEPA had a 27% lower risk for having a cardiovascular disease event compared with people who reported low levels of NEPA, and were at a 30% lower risk for all-cause mortality — even after excluding events and deaths from the first 3 years of follow-up.

Having a healthier waist circumference, HDL and triglycerides were associated with high NEPA in both men and women. Men who reported high NEPA had better serum insulin, serum glucose and plasma fibrinogen.

Ekblom-Bak and colleagues noted that they did not find any association between NEPA and blood pressure, which was consistent with findings in a previous study.

The researchers proposed that prolonged sitting may result in a lack of myokine (lipoprotein lipase, interleukin 6, contraction-induced GLUT-4, and IL-15) release in the body, which happens when a person contracts a skeletal muscle. Since myokine release plays a role in endocrine function, a lack of physical movement throughout the day could provide a possible explanation for why MVPA wasn’t enough to regulate metabolic and cardiovascular health.

“For future health, promoting everyday NEPA might be as important as recommending regular exercise for older adults,” Ekblom-Bak and colleagues concluded.

From the American Heart Association:

• AHA Guide for Improving CV Health at the Community Level, 2013 Update
• Cardiovascular Health: The Importance of Measuring Patient-Reported Health Status

Primary source: British Journal of Sports Medicine