Increasing levels of daily physical activity for arterial stiffness reduction in older women: a community-based pilot study

BACKGROUND: The recent Japanese official physical activity (PA) guidelines for health promotion recommend increasing PA by 10 minutes per day (Plus 10), which generally corresponds to about 1000 steps per day. However, whether habitually increasing PA in daily life improves arterial stiffness in older people is unclear. The present study aimed to examine the effects of habitually increasing PA during an intervention on arterial stiffness in older women. METHODS: Twenty-one older women (age, 76±1 years) participated in supervised group activity and seated exercise for 60 min per session, once each week during an 8-week intervention. The women wore an activity monitor for 1 week to determine baseline values and for the 8 weeks of intervention. Arterial stiffness was assessed before and after the intervention using the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI). RESULTS: Based on changes in steps between baseline and the intervention, the participants were assigned to control (<1000 steps/day, N.=14) or PA-increased (≥1000 steps/day, N.=7) groups with changes of -138±198 steps/day and 2,047±580 steps/day, respectively. The CAVI was significantly reduced only in the PA-increased group (Pre, 9.2±0.2; Post, 9.0±0.2 units), and changes in CAVI were significantly inversely correlated with changes in step counts (rs=-0.62). CONCLUSIONS: Habitually increasing PA in daily life during 8-week intervention can induce a small but significant reduction in arterial stiffness among older women.