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RESEARCH ARTICLE

SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE

80

VOLUME 14 NUMBER 2 • DECEMBER 2017

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Any physical activity in elderly better than none at all for reducing

cardiovascular risk

A

ny physical activity in the elderly is

better than none at all for reducing

cardiovascular risk, according to an

18-year study in more than 24 000

adults published recently in the

European

Journal of Preventive Cardiology

. ‘We

know that regular physical activity has

major health benefits,’ said first author Dr

Sangeeta Lachman, a cardiologist at the

Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam,

the Netherlands.

‘Healthy adults are advised to do at

least 150 minutes a week of moderate

intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous

intensity aerobic exercise to reduce

their risk of cardiovascular disease,’ she

continued. ‘These recommendations are

based primarily on research in middle-

aged adults and we wanted to know

whether regular physical activity yields

comparable cardiovascular health benefits

in elderly people.’

This study compared the association

between different levels of physical

activity and the risk of cardiovascular

disease in middle-aged to elderly

individuals. The hypothesis was that

exercise would be equally beneficial in

reducing cardiovascular risk in middle-

aged and elderly individuals.

The study included 24 502 adults

aged 39 to 79 years who participated in

the European Prospective Investigation

into Cancer (EPIC) Norfolk cohort, a

prospective population study that is part

of the ten-country collaboration EPIC

study. The cohort was primarily designed

to assess dietary and other determinants

of cancer, but data were also collected on

determinants of cardiovascular disease.

Participants were recruited between

1993 and 1997 from registries of general

practices in the county of Norfolk, UK.

On enrolment into the study, participants

completed a health and lifestyle

questionnaire, underwent a standardised

physical examination and gave blood

samples. Physical activity during work

and leisure time was assessed with a

questionnaire and participants were

categorised as active, moderately active,

moderately inactive and inactive.

Patients were followed up until 31

March 2015 for hospitalisation or death

from cardiovascular events (coronary

heart disease or stroke), which were

identified by linking the participant’s

unique National Health Service number

with the East Norfolk Health Authority

(ENCORE) database.

Physical activity levels and time to

cardiovascular events were investigated

in three age categories: less than 55, 55

to 65 (middle-aged), and over 65 years of

age (elderly).

During a median follow-up of 18

years there were 5 240 cardiovascular

disease events. In elderly participants,

hazard ratios for cardiovascular events

were 0.86, 0.87 and 0.88 in moderately

inactive, moderately active and active

people, respectively, compared to

inactive people. In those aged 55–65 and

less than 55 years, the associations were

directionally similar, but not statistically

significant.

Dr Lachman said: ‘We observed an

inverse association between physical

activity and the risk of cardiovascular

disease in both middle-aged and

elderly people. As expected, there were

more cardiovascular events in elderly

participants, which could explain why

the association only reached significance

in this age category.’

‘Elderly people who were moderately

inactive had a 14% reduced risk of

cardiovascular events compared to those

who were completely inactive,’ continued

Dr Lachman. ‘This suggests that even

modest levels of physical activity are

beneficial to heart health. Elderly people

should be encouraged to at least do

low-intensity physical activities such as

walking, gardening, and housework.’

She concluded: ‘Given our

aging population and the impact of

cardiovascular disease on society, a

broaderarrayofpublichealthprogrammes

is needed to help elderly people engage

in any physical activity of any level and

avoid being completely sedentary.’