published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / abstract / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

The largest percentage of mortality from tobacco smoking is cardiovascular-related. It is not known whether regular participation in exercise mitigates the adverse influence of smoking on vasculature. The purpose of this study is to determine if regular aerobic exercise is associated with reduced arterial stiffness in young men who are cigarette smokers. Using a cross-sectional observational study design, the sample included 78 young men (22±5 years) with the following classification: sedentary smokers (n=12); physically active smokers (n=25); sedentary non-smokers (n=20); and physically active non-smokers (n=21). Arterial stiffness was assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). There were no group differences in height, body fatness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. As expected, both physically active groups demonstrated greater VO2max and lower heart rate at rest than their sedentary peers. The sedentary smokers demonstrated greater baPWV than the sedentary non-smokers (1,183±33.5 vs. 1,055±25 cm/sec). baPWV was not different between the physically-active smokers and the physically-active non-smokers (1,084±26 vs. 1,070±28.6 cm/sec). Chronic smoking is associated with arterial stiffening in sedentary men but a significant smoking-induced increase in arterial stiffness was not observed in physically active adults. These results are consistent with the idea that regular participation in physical activity may mitigate the adverse effect of smoking on the vasculature. / text

This study examined how smoking and stress interact to affect the reactivity of the cardiovascular system. Findings revealed that subjects who smoked first and who were then exposed to stress showed less cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress compared to non-smoking subjects exposed only to stress. However, the combination of smoking and stress led to higher absolute levels and greater reactivity for all cardiovascular measures compared to stress alone. The ability for trait hostility, state angry affect and state anxious-affect to predict CVR to smoking and stress was also examined. State anxious-affect was the only affect-related variable that predicted CVR across experimental phases for both smokers and non-smokers. None of the affect-related variables were able to predict CVR during smoking. Trait hostility and state anxious-affect predicted CVR to stress for smokers and non-smokers. Trait hostility was negatively associated with CVR to stress, while state anxious-affect was positively associated with CVR to stress. State angry affect did not predict CVR to stress after accounting for the effects due to trait hostility.

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No description available.

No description available.