Association Between a Physical Activity Vital Sign and Cardiometabolic Disease in High-Risk Patients.

Academic Article

Abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between the physical activity vital sign (PAVS) and markers of cardiometabolic disease. DESIGN: Patients were assessed through the PAVS, a validated tool self-reporting the frequency and duration of physical activity. Patients were categorized into 3 groups: inactive (0 minutes per week), underactive (1-149 minutes per week), and active (>150 minutes per week). Associations were tested between the PAVS and the cardiometabolic disease biomarkers of body mass index, hemoglobin A1c (A1c), blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) using one-way analyses of variance. SETTING: High-risk family medicine residency clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand three hundred twenty-one adult patients (age ≥ 18 years). RESULTS: Participants reported a mean of 97.87 (SD = 149.35) minutes per week of exercise. Overall, 50.1% reported physical inactivity, 25.7% were underactive, and 24.3% were active. Younger individuals (P < 0.001) and men (P < 0.05) reported more physical activity than older individuals and women. Patients who reported being active were significantly less likely to be overweight (P < 0.05), obese (P < 0.05), or hypertensive (P < 0.05), but there was no association with A1c or LDL levels. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first investigation to examine the PAVS in a high-risk population. In these patients, reported levels of physical inactivity are 150% higher than other clinical settings, and the PAVS is only associated with improvements in 2 of 4 major cardiometabolic risk factors. For this group, self-reported levels of physical activity may need to be higher for cardiovascular benefits to be realized in all 4 cardiometabolic domains. The PAVS offers health professionals an opportunity to encourage lifestyle-based interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk, but refinements may be necessary to address this population.

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    Keywords

  • Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers, Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, LDL, Comorbidity, Exercise, Female, Glycated Hemoglobin, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Risk Factors, Sedentary Behavior, Self Report, Young Adult

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    Author List

  • Nelson VR; Masocol RV; Ewing JA; Johnston S; Hale A; Wiederman M; Asif IM

    • Start Page

  • 348

    • End Page

  • 352

    • Volume

  • 30

    • Issue

  • 4