Article

There is broad consensus that regular physical activity yields major
health benefits. However, current guidelines on physical activity are mainly
aimed at middle-aged adults. It is unclear whether physical activity also
translates into cardiovascular health benefits in older adults. Therefore, we
aimed to compare the association between different levels of physical activity
and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly to middle-aged
individuals. Methods We analysed data from the EPIC Norfolk prospective
population study. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse the
association between physical activity levels and time to CVD events in three age
categories (<55, 55-65 and >65 years). Interaction between age categories and
physical activity levels was assessed. Results Analyses were based on 24,502
study participants aged 39-79 years. A total of 5240 CVD events occurred during
412,954 person-years follow-up (median follow-up was 18.0 years). Among
individuals aged over 65 years, hazard ratios for CVD were 0.86 (95% confidence
interval (CI) 0.78-0.96), 0.87 (95% CI 0.77-0.99) and 0.88 (95% CI 0.77-1.02) in
moderately inactive, moderately active and active people, respectively, compared
to inactive people. Among people aged 55-65 and less than 55 years, the
associations were directionally similar, but not statistically significant. The
interaction term between physical activity levels and age categories was not
significant ( P = 0.38). Conclusion The inverse association between physical
activity and the risk of CVD was significant in elderly and comparable with
middle-aged individuals. In addition, we observed that modest levels of physical
activity confer benefits in terms of CVD risk, compared to being completely
inactive.

Langue : ANGLAIS