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Moderate physical activity may lower HF risk in men
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Older men who walked or biked for at least 20 minutes every day had a reduced risk for developing HF compared with lower and higher levels of physical activity, according to a new report.
Researchers studied 33,012 men (mean age at baseline, 60 years) from the Cohort of Swedish Men who were followed from 1998 to 2012. The men responded to questions about their activity levels at work, at home and/or during housework, walking and/or bicycling and exercise; as well as inactivity and time spent sleeping, sitting or lying down.
In total, the researchers analyzed 3,609 first HF events during an average follow-up of 13 years. This included 419 deaths and 3,190 HF hospitalizations.
Overall, the association between physical activity and HF risk was U-shaped, according to the researchers.
Men with the lowest levels of total physical activity (≤ 40 metabolic equivalent of task [MET] hours/day) had up to a 69% increased risk for HF compared with men with the median level (41 MET hours/day; HR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.44-1.97). Similarly, men with the highest levels of total physical activity (57 MET hours/day) also had an increased risk for HF compared with the median level (HR = 1.31; 95% CI, 1.07-1.59).
When the researchers analyzed different types of physical activity, at least 20 minutes per day of walking or biking was associated with the greatest reduction in HF risk (HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.72-0.87).
Of the men diagnosed with HF during the study period, those who engaged in at least 20 minutes per day of walking or biking were about 8 months older at the time of their HF event compared with people who engaged in less than 20 minutes per day of walking or biking.
In other results, men who were physically active at age 30 years but inactive at the time of enrollment in the Cohort of Swedish Men did not have a lower risk for HF.
“Because participants in the study cohort had also provided information about their physical activity at age 30, as well as at the time of enrollment around age 60, we were able to examine the long-term impacts of physical activity on [HF],” Andrea Bellavia, MSc, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, said in a press release. “We found that recent activity may be more important for [HF] protection than past physical activity levels.”
Occupation, education level, household work and physical activity were not significantly associated with HF risk in this study.
The researchers noted that these results may not be generalizable to other sexes, age groups and races/ethnicities. “This study population comprised of middle-aged and elderly white men, thus we might not be able to extrapolate our findings to other ethnicities, younger age groups or women,” they wrote. – by Katie Kalvaitis
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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