HealthDay News — Small amounts of vigorous intermittent physical activity (VILPA) are associated with a significant reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) in non-exercising women, according to a study published online December 3 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Emmanuel Stamatakis, Ph.D., from the University of Sydney, and colleagues examined sex differences in the dose-response association of VILPA with MACE and its subtypes among individuals who self-reported having no leisure time excercise and no more than one recreational walk per week in the UK Biobank. Analyzes were also conducted among those who self-reported participating in leisure activities and/or recreational walking more than once per week.
The researchers identified 331 and 488 MACE among 13,018 women and 9,350 men, respectively, during 7.9 years of follow-up. An almost linear dose-response association was observed for daily VILPA duration with all MACE, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Dose-response curves were less clear in men, with less evidence of statistical significance. The mean daily VILPA duration of 3.4 minutes in women was associated with a risk ratio of 0.55 and 0.33 for all MACE and heart failure, respectively, compared with those without VILPA. Hazard ratios of 0.70, 0.67 and 0.60 were observed for all MACE, myocardial infarction and heart failure, respectively, in combination with the minimum dose of 1.2 to 1.6 minutes of VILPA for women per day.
“Although these findings are observational, they suggest that VILPA may be a promising physical activity target for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in non-exercising women,” the authors write.
One author revealed ties to Complement Theory Inc.
