Higher exercise volume and intensity tied to lower CVD risk: Study

UK: Daily higher volume and intensity of physical activity (PA) is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), finds a recent study published in MedRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer-reviewed. Further, the role of moderately intense PA appears to be important for future CVD risk. 

CVD benefits of both overall volume and intensity of PA are known, however, the role of PA intensity over and above volume is not well understood. Considering this, Paddy C. Dempsey, Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK, and colleagues aimed to investigate the interplay between PA volume and intensity in relation to incident CVD. 

For this purpose, the researchers obtained data from 88,412 UK Biobank participants without prevalent CVD (58% women) who wore an accelerometer on their dominant wrist for 7 days. From this total physical activity, energy expenditure (PAEE) was estimated using population-specific validation. Associations between PAEE (kJ/kg/day)] and PA intensity [%MVPA; the fraction of PAEE accumulated from moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA] with incident CVD, adjusted for potential confounders was modeled through Cox proportional hazards regressions.