Five-year progression of coronary artery calcium by physical activity categories at baseline
| Parameter | Inactive | Moderately active | HEPA |
| n | 11 920 | 9683 | 3882 |
| Mean CAC score (95% CI) | |||
| Baseline | 9.45 (8.76, 10.14) | 10.20 (9.40, 11.00) | 12.04 (10.81, 13.26) |
| Year 5 | 24.32 (22.54, 26.09) | 28.27 (26.33, 30.20) | 35.06 (31.99, 38.13) |
| Five-year difference (Year 5–baseline) | 14.87 (13.18, 16.55) | 18.07 (16.24, 19.89) | 23.03 (20.11, 19.89) |
| Difference in mean CAC score (95% CI) | |||
| Baseline | 0 (Reference) | 0.75 (−0.31, 1.81) | 2.58 (1.17, 3.99) |
| Year 5 | 0 (Reference) | 3.95 (1.32, 6.57) | 10.75 (7.20, 14.30) |
| Difference in differences (Year 5–baseline) | 0 (Reference) | 3.20 (0.72, 5.69) | 8.16 (4.80, 11.53) |
Values were estimated from a random intercept and random slope mixed model for CAC score adjusted for baseline age, sex, centre, smoking, alcohol intake, education, family history of cardiovascular disease, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose, hypertension, diabetes and lipid-lowering therapy. P value for trend across International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) categories for difference in differences was highly statistically significant (p<0.001).
CAC, coronary artery calcium; CI, confidence interval; HEPA, health-enhancing physically active.