title: Former male elite athletes have better metabolic health in late life than their controls.
abstract: Elite-class athletes have longer life expectancy and lower risk for chronic noncommunicable diseases possibly because of physically active and healthier lifestyle. In this study, we assessed former male Finnish elite-class athletes' (n = 392) and their matched controls' (n = 207) body composition, and risk for the metabolic syndrome (MS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in later life. Compared with the controls, the former athletes had lower body fat percentage (24.8% vs 26.0%, P = 0.021), lower risk for MS [odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.81], and NAFLD (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.42-0.88). High volume of current leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was associated with lower body fat percentage (P for trend < 0.001). When current volume of LTPA increased 1 MET h/week, the risk of MS and NAFLD decreased (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99 and OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.98, respectively). Although a career as an elite-class athlete during young adulthood may help to protect from developing metabolic syndrome, present exercise levels and volume of LTPA seem equally important as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Vantaa Health Center/Network of Academic Health Centers, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Division of Welfare and Health Promotion, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Diabetes Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.|Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland.|Unit of General Practice, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.|Vasa Central Hospital, Vasa, Finland.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors.forename: U M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.|Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaprio
authors.affiliation: Population Research Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: B-M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Loo
authors.affiliation: Division of Welfare and Health Promotion, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Diabetes Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sundvall
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Health and Social Welfare Department, Vantaa, Finland.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bäckmand
authors.affiliation: Division of Welfare and Health Promotion, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Diabetes Prevention Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peltonen
authors.affiliation: Population Research Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jula
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarna
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000368:Aged; D056352:Athletes; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Adipose tissue; exercise; fat-free mass; liver; metabolic profile