Association Between Questionnaire- and Accelerometer-Based Physical Activity and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Incidence

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Epidemiology
• Genetics

Background:

• Physical activity (PA) is linked to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) risk, but previous research lacked objective PA data and genetic interaction analysis.
• Investigating the relationship between objective PA measures, genetic predisposition, and AAA risk is crucial for understanding disease etiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between different intensities of physical activity and the risk of developing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
• To assess the influence of genetic susceptibility, measured by polygenic risk scores, on the relationship between physical activity and AAA risk.
• To determine optimal physical activity thresholds for maximal AAA risk reduction.

Main Methods:

• Utilized UK Biobank data from 392,737 participants (questionnaire PA) and 92,101 participants (accelerometer PA), all AAA-free at baseline.
• Categorized PA into light, moderate, vigorous, and total activity; incident AAA cases were identified using ICD-10 and OPCS-4 codes.
• Employed Cox proportional hazards models, restricted cubic splines for dose-response analysis, and isotemporal substitution models to evaluate PA's impact and genetic interactions.

Main Results:

• Higher levels of moderate-intensity, vigorous-intensity, and total PA were associated with a reduced risk of AAA.
• Protective effects of PA were more pronounced in individuals with lower genetic risk.
• Nonlinear associations were found for moderate- and moderate-to-vigorous PA, with maximal risk reduction observed at specific weekly durations (e.g., 402.6 minutes for moderate-intensity PA).
• Replacing light-intensity PA with moderate- or vigorous-intensity PA decreased AAA risk, with greater benefits from vigorous-intensity PA.

Conclusions:

• Physical activity engagement is inversely associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) risk, irrespective of an individual's genetic predisposition.
• Specific time thresholds exist for different PA intensities to achieve maximum AAA risk reduction.
• These findings support the integration of exercise-based strategies into public health initiatives for AAA prevention.