Arrhythmias and Conduction DisturbancesEffect of Years of Endurance Exercise on Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter
Section snippets
Methods
To cover the range from physical inactivity to long-term regular endurance exercise, the study sample was based on participants recruited from 2 independent cohorts. Altogether, 4,999 men aged 53 to 92 years were invited to participate. Figure 1 illustrates the recruitment to this retrospective cohort study.
The first cohort comprised men who had previously participated in the 54-km Birkebeiner cross-country ski race. The cohort was constructed from a list provided by the race organizer. An
Results
In all, 3,712 of 4,999 invited men (74%) participated in the study, 76% of the skiers and 72% of the men from the Oslo Health Study. One hundred sixty-seven men who had reported arrhythmias in the Oslo Health Study but did not report AF in the present study were excluded, leaving 3,545 men eligible for the analyses. Table 1 describes characteristics of the study participants by years of endurance exercise. Men with histories of long-term regular exercise were younger, taller, had lower body
Discussion
This study adds to the current knowledge by demonstrating a graded dose-response relation between cumulative years of regular endurance exercise and risk for AF in men aged ≥53 years and is the first to show a correspondingly increased risk for atrial flutter.
In a recent Swedish study, repeated participation and faster finishing time in a long-distance cross-country ski race were associated with increased risk for AF. That study was limited by the lack of a reference point in the general
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Gry Sissel Granlund and Jon Wickman at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health for assistance with collection and processing of data, Iben Hansen at Journalservice AS (Oslo University Hospital), Helge Røsjø and Jon Brynildsen at Akershus University Hospital, Anne Marit Tiller at Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Sigrun Losada Eskeland, Anne Pernille Ofstad and Arnljot Tveit at Vestre Viken Health Trust, Heidi Olsen at Østfold Health Trust, Tomm Bernklev at Telemark Health
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This work was supported by Diakonhjemmet Hospital, the Kavli Research Center for Geriatrics and Dementia, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the Norwegian EXTRAFoundation for Health and Rehabilitation through EXTRA FUNDS.
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