Objectively measured daily physical activity related to cardiac size in young children

Training studies in children have suggested that endurance training can give enlargement of cardiac dimensions. This relationship has not been studied on a population-based level in young children with objective methods. A cross-sectional study was made of 248 children (140 boys and 108 girls), aged 8-11 years, from a population-based cohort. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDD) and left atrial end-systolic diameter (LA) were measured with echocardiography and indexed for body surface area (BSA). Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry, and the duration of vigorous physical activity per day (VPA) was calculated. Acceptable accelerometer and echocardiography measurements were obtained in 228 children (boys=127, girls=101). Univariate correlations between VPA and LVDD were indexed for BSA in boys (r=0.27, P<0.05) and in girls (r=0.10, NS). Multiple regression analysis showed that independent factors for LVDD, indexed for BSA for boys, were age and VPA. LA indexed for BSA was not related to physical activity variables in either gender. No clear relationship exists between cardiac size and daily physical activity in children aged 8-11 years. This suggests that significant cardiac remodelling due to volume exposure secondary to a high amount of physical activity begins later in life.