title: Self-efficacy regarding physical activity is superior to self-assessed activity level, in long-term prediction of cardiovascular events in middle-aged men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-efficacy has been determined to be a strong predictor of who will engage in physical activity. We aimed to evaluate the associations between self-efficacy to perform physical activity, self-reported leisure-time physical activity and cardiovascular events in a population-based cohort of middle-aged Swedish men with no previous cardiovascular disease, or treatment with cardiovascular drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses are based on 377 men randomly selected and stratified for weight and insulin sensitivity from a population sample of 58-year-old men (n = 1728) and who had answered a question about their competence to perform exercise (as an assessment of physical self-efficacy). The Saltin-Grimby Physical Activity Level Scale was used to assess self-reported levels of leisure-time physical activity. Cardiovascular events were recorded during 13-years of follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The group with poor self-efficacy to perform physical activity had a significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular events compared with the group with good physical self-efficacy (32.1% vs 17.1%, p < 0.01). Multivariate analyses showed that poor physical self-efficacy was associated with an increased relative risk of 2.0 (95% CI 1.2 to 3.0), of having a cardiovascular event during follow-up also after adjustments for co-variates such as waist to hip ratio, heart rate, fasting plasma glucose, serum triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, apoB/apoA-I ratio and leisure-time physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-efficacy to perform physical activity was strongly and independently associated with cardiovascular events and was superior to self-assessed physical activity in predicting cardiovascular events during 13-years of follow-up in a group of middle-aged men, without known CVD or treatment with cardiovascular drugs.
authors: Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research, Institution of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, S-413 45, Sweden. goran.bergstrom@hjl.gu.se.
authors: Göran
authors: G
authors: Bergström
authors: Swedish School of Sports and Health Sciences and Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. mats.brjesson@telia.com.
authors: Mats
authors: M
authors: Börjesson
authors: Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research, Institution of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, S-413 45, Sweden. caroline.schmidt@wlab.gu.se.
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020377:Self Efficacy; D057566:Self Report; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology