title: Exercise training and artery function in humans: nonresponse and its relationship to cardiovascular risk factors.
abstract: The objectives of our study were to examine 1) the proportion of responders and nonresponders to exercise training in terms of vascular function; 2) a priori factors related to exercise training-induced changes in conduit artery function, and 3) the contribution of traditional cardiovascular risk factors to exercise-induced changes in artery function. We pooled data from our laboratories involving 182 subjects who underwent supervised, large-muscle group, endurance-type exercise training interventions with pre-/posttraining measures of flow-mediated dilation (FMD%) to assess artery function. All studies adopted an identical FMD protocol (5-min ischemia, distal cuff inflation), contemporary echo-Doppler methodology, and observer-independent automated analysis. Linear regression analysis was used to identify factors contributing to changes in FMD%. We found that cardiopulmonary fitness improved, and weight, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased after training, while FMD% increased in 76% of subjects (P < 0.001). Training-induced increase in FMD% was predicted by lower body weight (β = -0.212), lower baseline FMD% (β = -0.469), lower training frequency (β = -0.256), and longer training duration (β = 0.367) (combined: P < 0.001, r = 0.63). With the exception of a modest correlation with total cholesterol (r = -0.243, P < 0.01), changes in traditional cardiovascular risk factors were not significantly related to changes in FMD% (P > 0.05). In conclusion, we found that, while some subjects do not demonstrate increases following exercise training, improvement in FMD% is present in those with lower pretraining body weight and endothelial function. Moreover, exercise training-induced change in FMD% did not correlate with changes in traditional cardiovascular risk factors, indicating that some cardioprotective effects of exercise training are independent of improvement in risk factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Danny.Green@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Henry Low Heart Center, Department of Cardiology, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut;
authors.forename: Thijs
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eijsvogels
authors.affiliation: School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Yvette M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Bouts
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Perth, Australia; and Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Service, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Maiorana
authors.affiliation: School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia;
authors.forename: Louise H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Naylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Ralph R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Scholten
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Marc E A
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Spaanderman
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Christopher J A
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Pugh
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Victoria S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Sprung
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schreuder
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cable
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Maria T E
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hopman
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Dick H J
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Thijssen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062186:Arterial Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001158:Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010807:Physical Endurance; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology; D014665:Vasodilator Agents
chemical_list: D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: cardiovascular risk; endothelial function; flow-mediated dilation; nitric oxide; physical activity