Population studies evaluating the relationship between physical activity (PA) and coronary heart disease (CHD)/cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk
| Study | Number of participants | Major findings |
|---|---|---|
| Blair et al19 Aerobic Centre Longitudinal Study | 32 421 | Inverse gradients for CVD mortality across three levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (low to moderate to high). Low fitness was an independent predictor of mortality among men (relative risk (RR) 1.52, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.82) and women (RR 2.10, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.21). |
| Mora et al20 Women's Health Study | 27 055 | Inverse relationship between PA and incident CVD (p, trend, <0.001) and PA and incident CHD (p, trend, <0.001) in women, with significance attenuated when accounting for risk factors (p, trend, 0.36 for CVD; p, trend, 0.05 for CHD), suggesting a considerable role of risk factors in the association. |
| Sesso et al21 Harvard Alumni Health Study | 12 516 | Significant reduction in relative risk of CHD in more active middle-aged and elderly men compared with less active men (p, trend, 0.003). Total PA (p, trend, 0.042) and vigorous activity (p, trend, 0.02) showed the strongest CHD risk reduction. |
| Donahue et al22 Honolulu Heart Programme | 8006 | Significant reduction in relative risk of CHD in the more active group compared with the less active group in both middle-aged (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.88) and elderly men (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.99). |