Effects of aerobic physical exercise on inflammation and atherosclerosis in men: the DNASCO Study: a six-year randomized, controlled trial.

<bold>Background: </bold>Although regular physical activity is recommended for prevention of cardiovascular diseases, no data are available on its antiatherosclerotic effects in the general population.<bold>Objective: </bold>To determine whether progressive aerobic exercise compared with usual activity slows progression of atherosclerosis in men.<bold>Design: </bold>A 6-year randomized, controlled trial.<bold>Setting: </bold>Eastern Finland.<bold>Participants: </bold>140 middle-aged men randomly selected from the population registry.<bold>Intervention: </bold>Low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.<bold>Measurements: </bold>Atherosclerosis was quantitated ultrasonographically as the mean intima-media thickness in the carotid artery at baseline and at years 2 through 6.<bold>Results: </bold>On the basis of intention-to-treat analyses, a 19.5% net increase (P < 0.001) in ventilatory aerobic threshold was evident in the exercise group after 6 years. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were statistically nonsignificantly lower in the exercise group than in the control group (P > 0.2). The progression of intima-media thickness in the carotid artery did not differ between the study groups (P > 0.2). A subgroup analysis that excluded men taking statins showed that the 6-year progression of intima-media thickness, adjusted for smoking and annual measures of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure, and waist circumference, was 40% less in the exercise group (0.12 mm [95% CI, -0.010 to 0.26 mm]) than in the control group (0.20 mm [CI, 0.05 to 0.35 mm]).<bold>Limitations: </bold>Only middle-aged white men were included. The intervention included mainly aerobic exercises.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Aerobic physical exercise did not attenuate progression of atherosclerosis, except in a subgroup of men not taking statins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]