Baumgartner Lisa, Weberruß Heidi, Appel Katharina, Engl Tobias, Goeder Daniel, Oberhoffer-Fritz Renate, Schulz Thorsten
Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, TUM Department of Sport and Health Science, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2021 Mar 15;3:633873. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2021.633873. eCollection 2021.
Young athletes most often exceed the physical activity recommendations of the World Health Organization. Therefore, they are of special interest for investigating cardiovascular adaptions to exercise. This study aimed to examine the arterial structure and function of young athletes 12-17 years old and compare these parameters to reference values of healthy cohorts. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), carotid diameter, cIMT÷carotid diameter-ratio (cIDR), arterial compliance (AC), elastic modulus (Ep), β stiffness index (β), and carotid pulse wave velocity (PWVβ) were determined using ultrasound in 331 young athletes (77 girls; mean age, 14.6 ± 1.30 years). Central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) and aortic PWV (aPWV) were measured using the oscillometric device Mobil-O-Graph. Standard deviation scores (SDS) of all parameters were calculated according to German reference values. The 75th and 90th percentiles were defined as the threshold for elevated cIMT and arterial stiffness, respectively. Activity behavior was assessed with the MoMo physical activity questionnaire, and maximum power output with a standard cardiopulmonary exercise test. One-sample -tests were performed to investigate the significant deviations in SDS values compared to the value "0". All subjects participated in competitive sports for at least 6 h per week (565.6 ± 206.0 min/week). Of the 331 young athletes, 135 (40.2%) had cIMT >75th percentile, 71 (21.5%) had cSBP >90th percentile, and 94 (28.4%) had aPWV>90th percentile. We observed higher cIMT SDS ( < 0.001), cIDR SDS ( = 0.009), and AC SDS ( < 0.001) but lower β SDS ( < 0.001), Ep SDS ( < 0.001), and PWVβ SDS ( < 0.001) compared to the reference cohort. The cSBP SDS ( < 0.001) and aPWV SDS ( < 0.001) were elevated. In conclusion, cIMT and cIDR were higher in young athletes than in a reference cohort. Furthermore, young athletes presented better carotid elasticity and lower arterial stiffness of the carotid artery. However, central arterial stiffness was higher compared to the reference cohort. The thickening of the carotid intima-media complex in combination with a reduction in arterial stiffness indicates a physiological adaptation to exercise in youth.
年轻运动员常常超出世界卫生组织的身体活动建议量。因此，他们对于研究心血管对运动的适应性具有特殊意义。本研究旨在检查12至17岁年轻运动员的动脉结构和功能，并将这些参数与健康队列的参考值进行比较。使用超声测定了331名年轻运动员（77名女孩；平均年龄14.6±1.30岁）的颈动脉内膜中层厚度（cIMT）、颈动脉直径、cIMT÷颈动脉直径比值（cIDR）、动脉顺应性（AC）、弹性模量（Ep）、β硬度指数（β）和颈动脉脉搏波速度（PWVβ）。使用示波装置Mobil-O-Graph测量中心收缩压（cSBP）和主动脉脉搏波速度（aPWV）。根据德国参考值计算所有参数的标准差分数（SDS）。分别将第75和第90百分位数定义为cIMT升高和动脉僵硬度升高的阈值。使用MoMo身体活动问卷评估活动行为，通过标准心肺运动试验评估最大功率输出。进行单样本检验以研究SDS值与“0”值相比的显著偏差。所有受试者每周至少参加6小时的竞技运动（565.6±206.0分钟/周）。在331名年轻运动员中，135名（40.2%）的cIMT>第75百分位数，71名（21.5%）的cSBP>第90百分位数，94名（28.4%）的aPWV>第90百分位数。与参考队列相比，我们观察到较高的cIMT SDS（<0.001）、cIDR SDS（=0.009）和AC SDS（<0.001），但较低的β SDS（<0.001）、Ep SDS（<0.001）和PWVβ SDS（<0.001）。cSBP SDS（<0.001）和aPWV SDS（<0.001）升高。总之，年轻运动员的cIMT和cIDR高于参考队列。此外，年轻运动员的颈动脉弹性更好，颈动脉僵硬度更低。然而，与参考队列相比，中心动脉僵硬度更高。颈动脉内膜中层复合体增厚并伴有动脉僵硬度降低表明年轻人对运动的生理适应。
