Physical activity attenuates cardiovascular risk and mortality in men and women with and without the metabolic syndrome – a 20-year follow-up of a population-based cohort of 60-year-olds

Aims The purpose of this study was to analyse the association of leisure-time physical activity of different intensities at baseline, and cardiovascular disease incidence, cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality in a population-based sample of 60-year-old men and women with and without established metabolic syndrome, for more than 20 years of follow-up. A secondary aim was to study which cardiometabolic factors may mediate the association between physical activity and long-term outcomes. Methods A total of 3693 participants (53% women) underwent physical examination and laboratory tests, completed an extensive questionnaire at baseline 1997–1999 and were followed until their death or until 31 December 2017. First-time cardiovascular disease events and death from any cause were ascertained through regular examinations of national registers. Results Metabolic syndrome prevalence was 23.0%. In metabolic syndrome participants, light physical activity attenuated cardiovascular disease incidence (hazard ratio = 0.71; 95% confidence interval 0.50–1.00) compared to sedentary (reference) after multi-adjustment. Moderate/high physical activity was inversely associated with both cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, but became non-significant after multi-adjustment. Sedentary non-metabolic syndrome participants had lower cardiovascular disease incidence (0.47; 0.31–0.72) but not significantly different cardiovascular disease (0.61; 0.31–1.19) and all-cause mortality (0.92; 0.64–1.34) compared to sedentary metabolic syndrome participants. Both light and moderate/high physical activity were inversely associated with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in non-metabolic syndrome participants (p<0.05). There were significant variations in several central cardiometabolic risk factors with physical activity level in non-metabolic syndrome participants. Fibrinogen mediated the protective effects of physical activity in non-metabolic syndrome participants. Conclusion Physical activity of different intensities attenuated cardiovascular risk and mortality in 60-year old men and women with metabolic syndrome during a 20-year follow-up.