associations found between reduced physical activity and cardiovascular disease appearing a decade prior to its diagnosis
In a significant finding, a recent study has emphasized the importance of maintaining physical activity levels throughout adulthood to reduce the risk of heart disease. The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed health data from over 3,000 participants of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.
The research revealed that adults who developed heart disease later in life experienced a decline in their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) starting about 12 years before their cardiovascular event. This decline tends to happen gradually from young adulthood to middle age and then stabilizes in later years.
Key findings related to ethnicity and life transitions include:
- Ethnic differences: Black men showed a more sustained decline in physical activity over adulthood, while Black women reported the lowest activity levels throughout adulthood. White men exhibited an initial decline followed by a stabilization and slight recovery in MVPA. White women, who started with lower activity than men, showed notable recovery beginning in midlife.
- Life course trajectory: Overall, physical activity levels tend to decline from young adulthood through midlife across all demographic groups, illustrating how challenging it is to maintain healthy exercise habits long term. The fact that physical activity decline precedes clinical heart disease by over a decade suggests a long preclinical window for preventive intervention.
- Physiological and health implications: The progressive drop in MVPA reflects and contributes to biological processes increasing heart disease risk, including cardiac deconditioning, endothelial dysfunction promoting atherosclerosis, metabolic disruptions like insulin resistance and weight gain, and inflammation with autonomic imbalance.
- Importance of early intervention: Detecting and addressing declines in physical activity early, ideally before middle age, could help delay or prevent cardiovascular disease onset, especially by targeting those at risk during life transitions when physical activity typically declines.
Integrating physical activity promotion into routine care is critical; even brief counseling has been shown to increase activity levels. The study also highlights the importance of understanding populations at risk for achieving the benefits of moderate-intense physical activity and targeting them for education and support.
Addressing physical activity decline requires culturally tailored strategies, including easy access to safe recreational spaces, affordable facilities, transportation support, and system-level efforts to make physical activity more accessible to all.
In summary, the study highlights a consistent decline in physical activity starting about 12 years before heart disease diagnosis, with important differences by ethnicity and across the life course, emphasizing a vital window for early lifestyle interventions to reduce heart disease risk.
- Seniors who aim to reduce their risk of heart disease and other heart-related diseases should focus on maintaining high levels of cardiovascular health through regular physical activity and fitness-and-exercise.
- The study published in JAMA Network Open revealed that a decline in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) greatly contributes to the development of chronic diseases like heart disease, starting approximately 12 years before the cardiovascular event.
- Science suggests that understanding and addressing the physical activity decline, especially among ethnic groups like Black men and women, is essential in reducing the prevalence of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and other medical-conditions.
- Integrating physical activity promotion into routine medical care and offering early interventions for at-risk populations, particularly during life transitions, can help minimize the onset of heart disease and promote health-and-wellness.
- Achieving the benefits of moderate-intense physical activity calls for implementing culturally tailored strategies to make physical activity more accessible for all, including easy access to safe spaces, low-cost facilities, transportation support, and system-wide changes.
