Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China;Department of Epidemiology, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Division of Epidemiology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital and Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou, China
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
Department of Cardiology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Cardio-Cerebrovascular Control and Research Center, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China
Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, China
Department of Prevention Medicine, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen, China
Funds:
This study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2017-I2M-1-004 & 2019-I2M-2-003), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0211703 & 2018YFE0115300 & 2018YFC1311703 & 2017YFC0908401), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91643208).
Background In China, lack of evidence remains a significant challenge for the national initiative to promote physical activity (PA). We aimed to quantify the beneficial effects of meeting or maintaining the recommended PA level [150 minutes per week (min/wk) of moderate PA or 75 min/wk of vigorous PA or an equivalent combination] on incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Chinese population. Methods We included 100,560 participants without history of CVD from three cohorts in the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD events and its subtypes, including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and CVD death. Results During a median follow-up of 7.3 years (range: 6–15 years), 777,163 person-years and 4693 incident CVD events were observed. Compared with participants who were inactive at baseline, the multivariable adjusted HR (95% CI) of developing CVD was 0.74 (0.69–0.79) for those who met recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) level at baseline. Furthermore, the risk of CVD incidence was reduced with increment of MVPA (Ptrend Conclusions The findings demonstrated that meeting and maintaining the recommended MVPA level could reduce the cardiovascular risk. Wider adoption of the PA recommendations would have considerable health impacts to the Chinese population.