Table 2

Association between physical activity trajectories and subsequent risk of CVD events and all-cause and CVD mortality (n=3231)

OutcomeTrajectory groupNNo. of eventsPerson-yearsRate per 1000 person-yearsModel 1Model 2Model 3Model 4
HR (95% CI)
Deaths (all cause)Low decreasing7334948402.258.8ReferentReferentReferentReferent
Light stable164986922 216.539.1 0.73 (0.65 to 0.81) 0.78 (0.69 to 0.87) 0.80 (0.71 to 0.90) 0.83 (0.74 to 0.94)
Moderate increasing84937212 034.930.9 0.64 (0.55 to 0.73) 0.71 (0.61 to 0.81) 0.74 (0.64 to 0.85) 0.76 (0.66 to 0.88)
p trend<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001
CVD mortality*Low decreasing7331988402.223.6ReferentReferentReferentReferent
Light stable164929722 216.513.4 0.64 (0.53 to 0.77) 0.67 (0.56 to 0.81) 0.69 (0.57 to 0.84) 0.76 (0.62 to 0.91)
Moderate increasing84911512 034.99.6 0.53 (0.42 to 0.67) 0.58 (0.45 to 0.74) 0.61 (0.48 to 0.78) 0.64 (0.50 to 0.82)
p trend<0.001<0.001<0.001<0.001
All CVD events (fatal +non-fatal)†Low decreasing7332527901.331.9ReferentReferentReferentReferent
Light stable164947020 692.522.7 0.80 (0.69 to 0.94) 0.83 (0.70 to 0.97)0.85 (0.72 to 1.00)0.89 (0.75 to 1.04)
Moderate increasing84919811 338.117.5 0.70 (0.57 to 0.85) 0.74 (0.60 to 0.90) 0.77 (0.63
to 0.94)
0.78 (0.64 to 0.95)
p trend<0.0010.0020.0090.015
CHD events (fatal+non-fatal)‡Low decreasing7331468190.717.8ReferentReferentReferentReferent
Light stable164924521 531.711.4 0.73 (0.59 to 0.91) 0.75 (0.60 to 0.93) 0.77 (0.62 to 0.95) 0.80 (0.64 to 1.00)
Moderate increasing8499811 672.48.4 0.63 (0.49 to 0.83) 0.67 (0.51 to 0.88) 0.70 (0.53 to 0.92) 0.71 (0.54 to 0.93)
p trend0.0010.0040.0090.012
Stroke events (fatal+non-fatal)§Low decreasing733768098.69.4ReferentReferentReferentReferent
Light stable164918621 308.68.70.99 (0.75 to 1.31)1.04 (0.79 to 1.38)1.08 (0.82 to 1.43)1.10 (0.83 to 1.46)
Moderate increasing8498411 687.77.20.87 (0.63 to 1.20)0.92 (0.66 to 1.28)0.96 (0.69 to 1.34)0.98 (0.70 to 1.37)
p trend0.3680.5730.7730.851
  • Model 1, adjusted for age, occupational class, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking status, region, previous diagnosis of MI, stroke or diabetes.

  • Model 2, Model 1+LDL, HDL, systolic blood pressure, insulin, waist circumference and FEV1.

  • Model 3, Model 2+IL-6 and vWf.

  • Model 4, Model 3+Hs TnT and NT-proBNP.

  • Boldface indicates statistical significance (p<0.05).

  • *Fatal CVD was defined as ICD-9 codes 390–459.

  • †All CVD events included all fatal CVD (ICD-9 codes 390–459) and non-fatal MI and stroke as described above.

  • ‡Fatal myocardial infarction (MI) was defined as ICD-9 codes 410–414. Non-fatal MI was defined as heart attack or coronary thrombosis, in accordance with the WHO diagnostic criteria.

  • §Fatal stroke was defined as ICD-9 codes 430–438. Non-fatal stroke events included those that caused a neurological deficit for >24 hours.

  • CHD, coronary heart disease; CVD, stroke/MI; MI, myocardial infarction.