Harden Joel E, David Branch J, Reynolds Leryn J
Integrative Cardiometabolic Research Laboratory, School of Exercise Science, Old Dominion University, 1006C Student Recreation CTR, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA.
School of Exercise Science, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Sports Med. 2025 May 19. doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02238-x.
Endothelial dysfunction is associated with cardiovascular disease and cardiac events. Numerous studies demonstrate that a reduction in physical activity/exercise levels are associated with poor endothelial function. Yet, these studies use a plethora of models to mimic reduced activity levels which may have widely different results on endothelial function. It is pertinent to collectively review these articles to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of reduced activity on vascular health, as endothelial function is one of many factors that influences vascular tone.
The purpose of this systematic review is to examine and synthesize the current literature regarding the effects of acutely (≤ ~ 2 months) reducing physical activity on endothelial function.
This systematic review contains a search of two databases (PubMed, Web of Science) conducted by two reviewers. After screening and review, the search yielded 20 studies that were appraised and reviewed.
Articles were separated into four categories based on the type of inactivity intervention: reduction in daily physical activity interventions, detraining (removal of exercise) interventions, bed rest interventions, and immobilization interventions. Acute physical inactivity interventions were largely shown to reduce upper and lower limb artery flow-mediated dilation and lower limb microvascular function.
The results indicate that those studies with increased time spent in inactivity, as well as increased severity of inactivity, were more likely to have negative endothelial function outcomes. Future research should examine differences in the severity of physical inactivity interventions regarding endothelial function.
内皮功能障碍与心血管疾病及心脏事件相关。大量研究表明，身体活动/运动水平降低与内皮功能不良有关。然而，这些研究使用了大量模型来模拟活动水平降低的情况，而这些模型对内皮功能可能产生差异很大的结果。鉴于内皮功能是影响血管张力的众多因素之一，综合回顾这些文章以全面了解活动减少对血管健康的影响很有必要。
本系统评价的目的是审查和综合当前有关急性（≤约2个月）减少身体活动对内皮功能影响的文献。
本系统评价由两名评价者对两个数据库（PubMed、科学网）进行检索。经过筛选和评审，检索出20项研究并进行评估和审查。
根据不活动干预的类型，文章分为四类：日常身体活动减少干预、停训（停止运动）干预、卧床休息干预和固定干预。急性身体不活动干预大多显示会降低上肢和下肢动脉血流介导的扩张以及下肢微血管功能。
结果表明，那些不活动时间增加以及不活动严重程度增加的研究，更有可能出现内皮功能不良的结果。未来的研究应探讨身体不活动干预严重程度在内皮功能方面的差异。
