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Updated: May 19, 2026

Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Association of objectively measured physical activity with established and novel cardiovascular biomarkers in elderly
Jochen Klenk1, Michael Denkinger, Thorsten Nikolaus
1Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany. jochen.klenk@uni-ulm.de
Objective:
To analyse the relationship between objectively measured daily walking duration and cardiovascular biomarkers of inflammation, cardiac dysfunction and renal impairment.
Methods:
Between March 2009 and April 2010, physical activity was assessed in 1253 community-dwelling individuals living in Germany aged ≥65 years (57% men) over 1 week using a thigh-worn accelerometer. C reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBC), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, high-sensitive troponin T (hsTnT), creatinine (Cr) and cystatin C (CysC) were also measured. Least-square means of daily walking duration were calculated for quartiles of each biomarker adjusted for sex, age, pre-existing cardiovascular disease and smoking status.
Results:
After adjustment for covariates, statistically significant linear associations with walking duration were observed for WBC, hsTnT, Cr and CysC. CRP quartiles 1 and 2 showed no significant difference followed by a significant inverse dose-response relationship. A similar pattern, but less pronounced, was seen for N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. Mean differences between the first two quartiles of CRP and its fourth quartile were 17 min. Between categories 1 (more beneficial) and 4 of WBC, hsTnT, Cr and CysC the differences were 15, 12, 23 and 20 min, respectively.
Conclusion:
Increased walking duration is associated with a more favourable profile of cardiovascular biomarkers in elderly subjects.
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