Abstract P277: Effects of Physical Activity on Vascular and Cardiac Measures in Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood Vary by Intensity

Introduction: Physical activity is associated with cardiovascular health in adults, but the effects of varied intensities of physical activity on vascular and cardiac measures in late adolescence/early adulthood are unclear. Hypothesis: Greater moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), greater light physical activity (LPA) and less physical inactivity will be associated with more favorable measures of arterial stiffness, arterial thickness, cardiac strain, and cardiac stress. Methods: In a study of the effects of obesity & diabetes on cardiovascular health, 283 subjects (mean age 22 ± 4 years, 62% female, 63% non-Caucasian) had the following measures obtained: anthropometrics, physical activity (Actical), blood pressure, blood glucose, central and peripheral measures of arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity (PWV), brachial distensibility (BrachD), and augmentation index (AIx)), arterial thickness (cIMT), cardiac diastolic function (Ea/Aa ratio on echocardiogram), and cardiac strain (global longitudina...