Physical activity attenuates cardiovascular risk and mortality in men and women with and without the metabolic syndrome - a 20-year follow-up of a population-based cohort of 60-year-olds.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to analyse the association of leisure-time physical activity of different intensities at baseline, and cardiovascular disease incidence, cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality in a population-based sample of 60-year-old men and women with and without established metabolic syndrome, for more than 20 years of follow-up. A secondary aim was to study which cardiometabolic factors may mediate the association between physical activity and long-term outcomes. METHODS: A total of 3693 participants (53% women) underwent physical examination and laboratory tests, completed an extensive questionnaire at baseline 1997-1999 and were followed until their death or until 31 December 2017. First-time cardiovascular disease events and death from any cause were ascertained through regular examinations of national registers. RESULTS: Metabolic syndrome prevalence was 23.0%. In metabolic syndrome participants, light physical activity attenuated cardiovascular disease incidence (hazard ratio = 0.71; 95% confidence interval 0.50-1.00) compared to sedentary (reference) after multi-adjustment. Moderate/high physical activity was inversely associated with both cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, but became non-significant after multi-adjustment. Sedentary non-metabolic syndrome participants had lower cardiovascular disease incidence (0.47; 0.31-0.72) but not significantly different cardiovascular disease (0.61; 0.31-1.19) and all-cause mortality (0.92; 0.64-1.34) compared to sedentary metabolic syndrome participants. Both light and moderate/high physical activity were inversely associated with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in non-metabolic syndrome participants (p<0.05). There were significant variations in several central cardiometabolic risk factors with physical activity level in non-metabolic syndrome participants. Fibrinogen mediated the protective effects of physical activity in non-metabolic syndrome participants. CONCLUSION: Physical activity of different intensities attenuated cardiovascular risk and mortality in 60-year old men and women with metabolic syndrome during a 20-year follow-up.

The metabolic syndrome and ECG detected left ventricular hypertrophy--influences from IGF-1 and IGF-binding protein-1.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with an increased risk for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and cardiovascular mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate potential influences from insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) on the relationship between the MetS and LVH, also taking into account the role of physical activity (PA), use of oestrogen and gender. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a population-based cross-sectional study of 60-year-old men (n = 1822) and women (n = 2049) participants underwent physical examination and laboratory tests, including electrocardiography (ECG), and completed an extensive questionnaire. Women showed higher levels of IGFBP-1 than men (37.0 vs. 28.0 µg/l, p < 0.001), and women with LVH had lower levels of IGFBP-1 than women without LVH (31.0 µg/l vs. 37.0 µg/l, p < 0.001). Furthermore, women with low levels of IGFBP-1 had a significantly increased risk of having LVH (crude OR ≈ 2.5). When stratifying for PA and oestrogen, respectively, a weaker association between IGFBP-1 and LVH was demonstrated in physically active men and women, compared to inactive individuals, as well as in women using oestrogen, compared to non-users. CONCLUSION: In a representative sample of 60-year-old Swedish men and women, the main findings were higher levels of IGFBP-1 in women than in men; lower levels of IGFBP-1 in women with LVH, compared to women without LVH; and an increased risk of having LVH in women with low levels of IGFBP-1. The association between IGFBP-1 and LVH was diminished in physically active men and women, as well as in women using oestrogen.

Functional changes in adipose tissue in a randomised controlled trial of physical activity.

BACKGROUND: A sedentary lifestyle predisposes to cardiometabolic diseases. Lifestyle changes such as increased physical activity improve a range of cardiometabolic risk factors. The objective of this study was to examine whether functional changes in adipose tissue were related to these improvements. METHODS: Seventy-three sedentary, overweight (mean BMI 29.9 ± 3.2 kg/m2) and abdominally obese, but otherwise healthy men and women (67.6 ± 0.5 years) from a randomised controlled trial of physical activity on prescription over a 6-month period were included (control n = 43, intervention n = 30). Detailed examinations were carried out at baseline and at follow-up, including fasting blood samples, a comprehensive questionnaire and subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies for fatty acid composition analysis (n = 73) and quantification of mRNA expression levels of 13 candidate genes (n = 51), including adiponectin, leptin and inflammatory cytokines. RESULTS: At follow-up, the intervention group had a greater increase in exercise time (+137 min/week) and a greater decrease in body fat mass (-1.5 kg) compared to the control subjects (changes of 0 min/week and -0.5 kg respectively). Circulating concentrations of adiponectin were unchanged, but those of leptin decreased significantly more in the intervention group (-1.8 vs -1.1 ng/mL for intervention vs control, P < 0.05). The w6-polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular linoleic acid (18:2w6), of adipose tissue increased significantly more in the intervention group, but the magnitude of the change was small (+0.17 vs +0.02 percentage points for intervention vs control, P < 0.05). Surprisingly leptin mRNA levels in adipose tissue increased in the intervention group (+107% intervention vs -20% control, P < 0.05), but changes in expression of the remaining genes did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: After a 6-month period of increased physical activity in overweight elderly individuals, circulating leptin concentrations decreased despite increased levels of leptin mRNA in adipose tissue. Otherwise, only minor changes occurred in adipose tissue, although several improvements in metabolic parameters accompanied the modest increase in physical activity.

The metabolic syndrome and left ventricular hypertrophy--the influence of gender and physical activity.

AIMS: To investigate associations between the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as well as the influence of gender and physical activity (PA) in a population-based cross-sectional study of 60-year-old men (n = 1822) and women (n = 2049). MAJOR FINDINGS: In total, 908 (23.5%) study participants fulfilled the criteria for MetS (54.2% men). Among those, 104 (11.5%) exhibited signs of LVH (60.6% men), compared with 182 (6.1%) among those without MetS (60.4% men). Of the individual factors contained in MetS, hypertension was independently associated with LVH in both men and women (OR = 3.4; 95% CI 2.0-5.8 and 4.4; 2.5-7.8 respectively), whereas waist circumference (OR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.0-2.6), high glucose levels (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-2.8) and hyperinsulinaemia (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.1-2.6) were independently related to risks for LVH exclusively in women. PA did not significantly affect the association. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSION: Participants with MetS were at an increased risk of LVH, independently of PA level. Of the various components in MetS, hypertension was most strongly and independently related to LVH in both men and women. In women, abdominal obesity, high glucose levels and hyperinsulinaemia were independently related to LVH, suggesting a gender differences in the mechanisms behind development of LVH.

Low levels of IgM antibodies to phosphorylcholine predict cardiovascular disease in 60-year old men: effects on uptake of oxidized LDL in macrophages as a potential mechanism.

OBJECTIVE: We here determine the role of IgM antibodies against phosphorylcholine (anti-PC) in prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and on macrophage uptake of Oxidized LDL (OxLDL). METHODS: From a screening of 4232 subjects, 60-year-old (2039 men and 2193 women), 211 incident cases of CVD (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or hospitalized angina pectoris) and 633 age- and sex-matched controls were identified through a 5-7 year follow-up. Serum levels of IgM anti-PC was determined by ELISA. Anti-PC was extracted from pooled human IgM and the effect of anti-PC on the uptake of OxLDL was studied by FACScan. RESULTS: Relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) by quartiles of anti-PC levels with quartile 4 set as the reference value (RR = 1.0) and adjusted for smoking, BMI, type II diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia, and high blood pressure yielded an excess risk for CVD only for those within the lowest quartile of anti-PC values with an RR of 1.37 (CI 0.87-2.16). However, for men stronger associations were noted with increasing multivariately adjusted RRs from quartile 4 to quartile 1. Subjects within quartile 1 (values below 29.7 U/ml) had a significantly increased RR of 1.96 (CI 1.09-3.55). Further adjustments for hsCRP gave essentially the same results. No excess risk was noted for women. Specific anti-PC could be extracted from IgM and these antibodies inhibited macrophage uptake of OxLDL. CONCLUSIONS: Low IgM anti-PC could be a novel risk marker for CVD among men. One possible mechanism could be inhibition of uptake of oxLDL in macrophages.

Is a unified definition of metabolic syndrome needed? Comparison of three definitions of metabolic syndrome in 60-year-old men and women.

BACKGROUND: There are three commonly used definitions of the metabolic syndrome, making scientific studies hard to compare. The aim of this study was to investigate agreement in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome defined by three different definitions and to analyze definition and gender differences. METHODS: A population-based, cross-sectional study of a total of 4232 participants--2039 men and 2193 women, aged 60 years--was employed. Three different metabolic syndrome definitions were compared: European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III). Medical history, socioeconomic information, and lifestyle data were collected by a questionnaire. A medical examination including laboratory tests was performed. Significant factors for the metabolic syndrome were calculated by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Forty five percent of men and 30% of women met the criteria for the metabolic syndrome by any definition, but only 17% of men and 9% of women met the criteria of all three definitions. The highest agreement was found between IDF and NCEP ATP III definition. Two significant associations were identified in both men and women by the three metabolic syndrome definitions; former smokers were highly associated with the metabolic syndrome (odds ratio [OR] congruent with 1.5), and regular physical activity (OR congruent with 0.6) was inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Depending on the definition used, different individuals were identified as having the metabolic syndrome, which affects the reliability of interpretations to be made from scientific studies of the metabolic syndrome. Unified criteria are warranted. Physicians facing a physically inactive former smoker may consider diagnosing metabolic syndrome.