EFFECT OF PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY ON THE DISTENSIBILITY OF THE AORTIC-WALL IN HEALTHY-MALES

To study the effect of physical activity level on the distensibility o f the human aortic wall, aortic pulse wave velocity (APWV) was estimat ed in 139 healthy male subjects (19-67 years) and was related to the e nergy expenditure by habitual physical exercise (physical activity ind ex: PAI), which was evaluated by a 7-day total activity recall. The su bjects consisted of 56 fun runners (runner group) and 83 general subje cts, who were divided into 25 active subjects (active group: PAI great er than or equal to 1,500 kcal/week) and 58 sedentary subjects (sedent ary group: PAI < 1,500 kcal/week). The APWV index (APWVI: standardized APWV by the diastolic blood pressure) was found to be positively corr elated with age and was negatively correlated with PAI. The age-adjust ed APWVI of the runner group was significantly lower than that of the active and sedentary groups. The age-adjusted APWVI was also significa ntly lower in the active group than in the sedentary group. These resu lts suggest that increased physical activity may retard the age-depend ent loss of arterial distensibility in humans, in proportion to the am ount and/or intensity of exercise.