UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Dose-response associations between cycling activity and risk of hypertension in regular cyclists: The UK Cycling for Health Study

Hollingworth, M; Harper, A; Hamer, M; (2015) Dose-response associations between cycling activity and risk of hypertension in regular cyclists: The UK Cycling for Health Study. Journal of Human Hypertension , 29 pp. 219-223. 10.1038/jhh.2014.89. Green open access

[thumbnail of jhh201489a.pdf]
Preview
Text
jhh201489a.pdf

Download (481kB) | Preview

Abstract

Most population studies on physical activity and health have involved largely inactive men and women, thus making it difficult to infer if health benefits occur at exercise levels above the current minimum guidelines. The aim was to examine associations between cycling volume and classical cardiovascular risk markers, including hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, in a population sample of habitual cyclists. A nationwide sample comprising 6,949 men and women (aged 47.6 yrs on average) completed questions about their cycling levels, demographics and health. Nearly the entire sample (96.3%) achieved the current minimum physical activity recommendation through cycling alone. There was a dose-response association between cycling volume and risk of diagnosed hypertension (p-trend =0.001), with odds ratios of 0.98 (95% CI, 0.80 – 1.21), 0.86 (0.70, 1.06), 0.67 (95% CI, 0.53 – 0.83) across categories of 23 – 40, 40 – 61, and >61 MET-hr/wk compared with <23 MET-hr/wk. These associations persisted in models adjusted for age, sex, smoking, alcohol, BMI, and other moderate to vigorous physical activities. We also observed inverse associations between cycling volume and other risk factors including BMI and hypercholesterolemia. In summary, results from a population sample of cyclists suggest that additional cardiovascular health benefits can be achieved beyond the current minimum physical activity recommendation.

Type: Article
Title: Dose-response associations between cycling activity and risk of hypertension in regular cyclists: The UK Cycling for Health Study
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/jhh.2014.89
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2014.89
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Keywords: physical activity, cycling, epidemiology, hypertension, cardiovascular health
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1447061
Downloads since deposit
99Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item