Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between changes in leisure time physical activity and changes in cardiovascular risk factors over 16 years and whether they differ between two ethnic groups in Norway.Methods: Data were extracted from two population-based studies. Altogether, 3671 men and women participated in both surveys, and 30% reported being of Sami ethnicity. Leisure time physical activity was self-reported, and cardiovascular risk factors were measured. ANCOVA analysis was used to examine associations between changes in physical activity and changes in cardiovascular risk factors.Results: After adjustment for age, sex, smoking, ethnicity and respective baseline values, favourable changes in body mass index (BMI) and levels of triglycerides were most pronounced in those who were active in both surveys (p < 0.05) whereas the opposite was the situation for cholesterol levels (p = 0.003). Changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate were not significantly associated with change in physical activity. Ethnicity did not influence the associations between physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors.Conclusion: Traditional cardiovascular risk factors were to a small extent associated with change in leisure time physical activity. Persistent physical activity was associated with beneficial changes in BMI and triglycerides.
Highlights
A sedentary lifestyle is considered a health risk, and physical activity is an important modifiable factor contributing to risk reduction of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and death [1,2,3]
We aimed to examine whether the relationship between change in leisure time physical activity and change in cardiovascular risk factors differs between two ethnic groups in Norway
There was a reduction in body mass index (BMI), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), resting heart rate (RHR), triglycerides and smoking prevalence across subgroups of leisure time physical activity at baseline (Table 1), which was observed in both ethnic groups (Table 1)
Summary
A sedentary lifestyle is considered a health risk, and physical activity is an important modifiable factor contributing to risk reduction of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and death [1,2,3]. The incidence of CVD in Norway has declined over the last decades [4], CVD is still a major cause of premature death and morbidity, and focus on preventive measures such as physical activity should continue [5,6,7]. Due to the scarcity of studies concerning change in physical activity and CVD risk factors, and because many individuals change their behaviour over time [11], we wanted to address this issue in a cohort of Norwegian adults of different ethnic origin with repeated measurements of physical activity. The main aim of this study was to examine the association between changes in leisure time physical activity and changes in cardiovascular risk factors.
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