title: Peak stepping cadence is associated with leg vascular compliance in young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that volume or intensity of daily ambulatory activity would associate with greater large artery compliance in healthy untrained adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five recreationally active young adults (22 ± 3 yr, 51% women) wore an accelerometer for 5.3 ± 1.3 days for determination of average daily steps (volume) and 30-min peak stepping cadence (intensity; average steps per min for the 30 highest min in a day). Arterial compliance of the common carotid artery, superficial femoral artery (SFA), and popliteal artery was estimated using Doppler ultrasound. Data were analyzed using correlational analysis and analysis of covariance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Average daily steps and peak stepping cadence was 8957 ± 3422 steps per day and 97 ± 24 steps per min, respectively. Weight was the main independent predictor of daily steps (r(2) = 0.13, p = 0.01) and peak stepping cadence (r(2) = 0.17, p<0.01). After adjusting ambulatory activity for weight, SFA compliance was positively correlated with peak stepping cadence (r = 0.53, p<0.01) but not with daily steps (r = 0.23, p > 0.05). No other correlations were found between ambulatory activity and carotid or popliteal artery compliance (p>0.05). Adults with peak stepping cadence ≥ 102 steps per min had greater carotid (1.26 ± 0.08 vs. 1.57 ± 0.09 mm(2) kPa(-1); p = 0.01) and SFA compliance (0.43 ± 0.03 vs. 0.54 ± 0.03 mm(2) kPa(-1); p = 0.04) than adults with lower stepping cadence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  "Brisk" stepping cadence during daily ambulation is associated with greater leg vascular compliance. These results support the promotion of accumulating 30 min of "brisk" walking per day as a strategy to improve vascular health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Texas Tech University, United States. Electronic address: joaquin.gonzales@ttu.edu.
authors.forename: Joaquin U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Texas Tech University, United States.
authors.forename: Parijat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Texas Tech University, United States.
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shephard
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Texas Tech University, United States.
authors.forename: Andey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Means
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accelerometer; Arterial stiffness; Carotid artery; Doppler ultrasound; Femoral artery; Walking