Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) quantified fitness: Lifelong and late-onset athletes had higher VO2peak than non-athletes
Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
Lifelong endurance sport participation is not associated with a more favorable coronary plaque composition compared to a healthy lifestyle. Lifelong endurance athletes had more coronary plaques, including more non-calcified plaques in proximal segments, than fit and healthy individuals with a similarly low cardiovascular risk profile. Longitudinal research is needed to reconcile these findings with the risk of cardiovascular events at the higher end of the endurance exercise spectrum.
- The median age was 55 (50–60) years in all groups
191 lifelong master endurance athletes,
191 late-onset athletes (endurance sports initiation after 30 years of age), and
176 healthy non-athletes,
all male with a low cardiovascular risk profile, were included.
- Lifelong and late-onset athletes had higher VO2peak than non-athletes
159 [143-177] vs
155 [138-169] vs
122 [108-138] % predicted).
- Lifelong endurance sports was associated with having
≥1 coronary plaque (odds ratio [OR] 1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17–2.94), ≥1 proximal plaque (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.24–3.11),
≥1 calcified plaques (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.01–2.49),
≥1 calcified proximal plaque (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.28–3.35),
≥1 non-calcified plaque (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.12–3.40),
≥1 non-calcified proximal plaque (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.39–5.65) and
≥1 mixed plaque (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.06–2.99) as compared to a healthy non-athletic lifestyle.
SOURCE
Lifelong endurance exercise and its relation with coronary atherosclerosis
Ruben De Bosscher, MD, Christophe Dausin, MSc, Piet Claus, MSc PhD, Jan Bogaert, MD PhD, Steven Dymarkowski, MD PhD, Kaatje Goetschalckx, MD, Olivier Ghekiere, MD PhD, Caroline M Van De Heyning, MD PhD, Paul Van Herck, MD PhD, Bernard Paelinck, MD PhD, Haroun El Addouli, MD PhD, André La Gerche, MD PhD, Lieven Herbots, MD PhD, Rik Willems, MD PhD, Hein Heidbuchel, MD FESC FEHRA PhD, Guido Claessen, MD PhD, Master@Heart Consortium, Lifelong endurance exercise and its relation with coronary atherosclerosis, European Heart Journal, 2023;, ehad152, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad152
- Series A, Volume Three
Etiologies of Cardiovascular Diseases – Epigenetics, Genetics and Genomics, 2015
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