The Relationship between Physical Activity Level and Arterial Stiffness in Young Female Adults

Abstract

PURPOSE Arterial stiffness is associated with cardiovascular events and mortality. Regular physical activity contributes to decrease in arterial stiffness. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical activity level, as objectively assessed by a 3-axial accelerometer, and central artery stiffness in young female adults. METHODS Twenty-six young adults without overt clinical disease participated in this cross-sectional study. Physical activity level was assessed during three consecutive weekdays using ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer. Study participants were divided into either higher or lower activity group based on physical activity quantity and physical activity time with moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA). Central artery stiffness was assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aortic PWV), augmentation index (AIx) and augmentation index adjusted at 75 beats per minute of heart rate (AIx@75) using SphygmoCor Xcel System. RESULTS AIx and AIx@75 were lower in the group with higher physical activity quantity (counts/min) compared with the group with lower physical activity quantity (p<.05). AIx was inversely associated with vector magnitude (r=-.412, p=.036) and AIx@75 was inversely related to axis-1 counts (r=-.421, p=.032), vector magnitude (r=-.466, p=.016), step counts (r=-.499, p=.021). Regarding MVPA, there were no significant group differences on central artery stiffness measures. However light-intensity physical activity time (r=-.398, p=.044) and MVPA time (r=-.403, p=.041) were negatively associated with AIx@75. CONCLUSIONS Augmented physical activity level is associated with reduced central artery stiffness in healthy young women.

Keywords

• physical activity
• arterial stiffness
• pulse wave velocity
• augmentation index