Skeletal muscle morphology and risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly menShow others and affiliations
2015 (English)In: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, ISSN 2047-4873, E-ISSN 2047-4881, Vol. 22, no 2, p. 231-239Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
BACKGROUND: While it is well known that physical inactivity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, there is still a search for the mechanisms by which exercise exerts its positive effect. Skeletal muscle fibre type can be affected to some extent by exercise, and different fibre types possess different anti-inflammatory and glucometabolic properties that may influence cardiovascular disease risk.
DESIGN: Population-based cohort study.
METHODS: We investigated relations of skeletal muscle morphology to risk of cardiovascular events in a sample of 466 71-year-old men without cardiovascular disease, of which 295 were physically active (strenuous physical activity at least 3 h/week).
RESULTS: During a median of 13.1 years of follow up, 173 major cardiovascular events occurred. Among physically active men, 10% higher proportion of type-I (slow-twitch oxidative) fibres was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.84 (95% confidence interval 0.74-0.95) for cardiovascular events, and 10% higher proportion of type-IIx (fast-twitch glycolytic) fibres was associated with a HR of 1.24 (1.06-1.45), adjusting for age. Similar results were observed in several sets of multivariable-adjusted models. No association of muscle fibre type with risk of cardiovascular events was observed among physically inactive men.
CONCLUSIONS: Higher skeletal muscle proportion of type-I fibres was associated with lower risk of cardiovascular events and a higher proportion of type-IIx fibres was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events. These relations were only observed in physically active men. Skeletal muscle fibre composition may be a mediator of the protective effects of exercise against cardiovascular disease.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2015. Vol. 22, no 2, p. 231-239
National Category
Clinical Medicine
Research subject
Research Profiles 2009-2020, Health and Welfare
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-13377DOI: 10.1177/2047487313506828PubMedID: 24092874Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84920983483OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-13377DiVA, id: diva2:669012
2013-12-022013-11-292021-11-12Bibliographically approved