Table 1.
Coronary atherosclerosis characteristics across studies comparing athletes and controls
| Möhlenkamp (2008) 10 | Merghani (2017) 9 | Aengevaeren (2017) 8 | DeFina (2019) 24 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise volume group | Marathon runners (n = 108) | Age‐matched controls (n = 864) | Age and RF‐matched controls (n = 216) | Athletes (n = 106) | Controls (n = 54) | Most active (>2000 MET‐min/wk) (n = 75) | Least active (<1000 MET‐min/wk) (n = 88) | Most active (>3000 MET‐min/wk) (n = 1561) | Less active (<3000 MET‐min/wk) (n = 20 197) |
| CAC prevalence (%) | 71 | 82 a | 69 | 48 | 41 | 68 | 43 a | NA | NA |
| CAC prevalence (OR) | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 3.2 (1.6–6.6) | 1.00 (reference) a | 1.11 (1.03‐2.20) | 1.00 (reference) a |
| CACS in all individuals (AU) | 36 (0‐217) | 38 (3‐187) | 12 (0–78) a | 0 | 0 | 9.4 (0‐60.9) | 0 (0‐43.5) a | NA | NA |
| CACS in CAC >0 b (AU) | NA | NA | NA | 86 | 3 a | 39 (8‐159) | 69.6 (14‐332) | NA | NA |
| Plaque prevalence (%) | NA | NA | NA | 44 | 22 a | 77% | 56 a | NA | NA |
Note: Data shown as percentage or with 95% confidence interval or median (interquartile range).
Abbreviations: AU, Agatston units; CAC, coronary artery calcification; CACS, CAC score; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; NA, not available; OR, odds ratio; RF, risk factor.
a
Significantly (P < .05) different from athletes/most active cohort.
b
CACS only in CAC > 0 thus lower number of participants.