title: Relationship between aerobic fitness and progression of coronary atherosclerosis.
abstract: Cross-sectional data suggest that the degree of coronary atherosclerosis is associated with aerobic fitness. However, there are limited longitudinal data addressing whether aerobic fitness is a predictor of coronary atherosclerosis progression. This study investigated whether peak oxygen consumption is related to a longitudinal increase in coronary calcium scores. Study subjects were voluntary participants in a health screening program who underwent a cardiopulmonary function test and repeated coronary calcium scoring. Individuals with clinical cardiovascular disease were excluded. The final sample included 4843 subjects with 14,856 records. The treadmill exercise test was performed using a modified Bruce protocol and Agatston coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores were measured using multi-detector CT. The mean age of the participants was 52 ± 6 years and 4.7 % were female. In a multi-level mixed effect regression model, increased CAC scores over time were significantly less likely in individuals with a higher VO2peak after adjusting for age, gender, hypertension, HbA1c, smoking status and LDL cholesterol levels (p < 0.001). Aerobic fitness has a protective effect on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis in an asymptomatic middle-aged population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Cardiac and Vascular Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea. jdsung@skku.edu.|Department of Medicine, Center for Health Promotion, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea. jdsung@skku.edu.
authors.forename: Jidong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Center for Health Promotion, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Cardiac and Vascular Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yeon Hyeon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sanghyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Gu
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Cardiac and Vascular Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.|Department of Medicine, Center for Health Promotion, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon-Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Cardiac and Vascular Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Pyo
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011379:Prognosis; D065840:Protective Factors; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: Aerobic fitness; Coronary atherosclerosis; Coronary calcium score