Cross-sectional and prospective associations between aerobic fitness and lipoprotein particle profile in a cohort of Norwegian schoolchildren

Abstract

Background and aims: The associations between aerobic fitness and traditional measures of lipid metabolism in children are uncertain. We investigated whether higher levels of aerobic fitness benefit lipoprotein metabolism by exploring associations with a comprehensive lipoprotein particle profile.

Methods: In our prospective cohort study, we used targeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy to profile 57 measures of lipoprotein metabolism from fasting serum samples of 858 fifth-grade Norwegian schoolchildren (49.0% girls; mean age 10.0 years). Aerobic fitness was measured using an intermittent shuttle run aerobic fitness test. We used multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounders to examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between aerobic fitness and lipoprotein particle profile.

Results: Higher levels of aerobic fitness were associated with a favourable lipoprotein particle profile in the cross-sectional analysis, which included inverse associations with all measures of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles (e.g., −0.06 mmol·L−1 or –0.23 SD units; 95% CI = −0.31, −0.16 for VLDL cholesterol concentration). In the prospective analysis, the favourable pattern of associations persisted, though the individual associations tended to be more consistent with those of the cross-sectional analysis for the VLDL subclass measures compared to the low-density lipoproteins and high-density lipoproteins. Adjustment for adiposity attenuated the associations in both cross-sectional and prospective models. Nevertheless, an independent effect of aerobic fitness remained for some measures.

Conclusions: Improving children's aerobic fitness levels should benefit lipoprotein metabolism, though a concomitant reduction in adiposity would likely potentiate this effect.