Abstract 13330: Swimming Exercise in Youth Athletes is Associated With Reduced Cardiovascular Risk Factors: An Analysis of the HeartBytes Dataset

Abstract

Background: The American Heart Association has defined cardiovascular health using eight components related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, including BMI, blood pressure, and physical activity. Swimming exercise has been widely promoted for the prevention of CVD; however, its relationship with CVD risk factors has rarely been examined in adolescents and compared to that of land-based exercise. Methods: Data was obtained from in-person surveys and physical examinations conducted by the nonprofit Simon’s Heart organization. Multivariate logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, BMI, participation in sports, and activity level per week were performed to assess the relationship between swimming exercise and each outcome. Chi-square tests between swimmer and non-swimmer athletes were run to compare outcomes by exercise modality. Results: Among 7,154 adolescents ranging from ages 12 to 20, 686 (9.6%) were swimmers (52% male, age = 14.6 ± 1.85, BMI = 20.8 ± 3.65, mean arterial pressure (MAP) > 100 = 1.7%); 5,642 (78.9%) were involved in non-swimming sports (55.4% male, age = 15.1 ± 1.82, BMI = 21.6 ± 5.77, MAP > 100 = 3.42%), and 813 (11.4%) did not play sports. Swimmers were less likely than all non-swimmers to have an obese BMI or BMI greater than 30 (OR: 0.49, CI: 0.26-0.85, p = .018) and a high MAP or MAP greater than 100 (OR: 0.44, CI: 0.20-0.84, p = .025). Similarly, tests of differences between swimmer and non-swimmer athletes were significant for obese BMI ( p = .002) and high MAP ( p = .002). A significantly higher proportion of swimmers (53.1%) versus non-swimmer athletes (38.8%) performed more than 10 hours of physical activity per week ( p < 0.001), and swimmers were more likely to be highly active (OR: 1.59, CI: 1.35-1.87, p < .001). A lower percentage of swimmers reported abnormal cardiac symptoms such as chest pain compared to non-swimmer athletes, but these differences were non-significant. Conclusions: This study identified a lower likelihood of two CVD risk factors among swimmers, which is consistent with existing literature suggesting a cardiovascular benefit to swimming exercise. This may be explained by higher levels of physical activity per week among swimmers. More studies are needed to further elucidate the effects of swimming on CVD risk.