WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay Professional Briefing) -- Physical fitness is a critical factor in prevention of cardiovascular disease mortality in men across all levels of LDL-cholesterol, according to a study in the September 6 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Peter Katzmarzyk, of Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and colleagues at The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, conducted a retrospective analysis of 19,125 male patients, 20 to 79 years of age, who attended a preventive medical clinic between 1979-1995.
The investigators used the 2004 revised version of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel-III (ATP III-R) guidelines to divide the men into three groups: those with LDL-C at or below optimum level (LDL-C goal); those who needed a therapeutic lifestyle change, such as a change in diet, physical activity and weight management to lower LDL-C (TLC initiation); and those who needed drug therapy to lower LDL-C (drug consideration).
Of the patient population studied, 58%, 18% and 24% fell into the three groups, respectively. In the TLC and drug consideration groups, physical fitness reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality by an average of 50% compared to men in the same group who were not physically fit. Additionally, presence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) was a significant risk factor in all three groups, with an average twofold greater likelihood of CVD mortality in MetS patients than in non-MetS patients.
Abstract
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