Trial reportJournal of the American Heart Association2014
Relative importance of step count, intensity, and duration on physical activity's impact on vascular structure and function in previously sedentary older adults.
Trial report in Journal of the American Heart Association, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of Aerobic Exercise on Endothelial Function and Other Cardiovascular Disease Markers in Health and Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis with Meta-regression of Randomized Controlled Trials.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- Comparing Aerobic Interval Training with Other Forms of Physical Exercise for Brachial Artery Endothelial Function Improvement: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Sports medicine - open · 2025Pooled it
- Wearable Activity Tracker-Based Interventions for Physical Activity, Body Composition, and Physical Function Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Do physical activity interventions combining self-monitoring with other components provide an additional benefit compared with self-monitoring alone? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of sports medicine · 2022Pooled it
- The effects of step-count monitoring interventions on physical activity: systematic review and meta-analysis of community-based randomised controlled trials in adults.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Pooled it
- Can consumer wearable activity tracker-based interventions improve physical activity and cardiometabolic health in patients with chronic diseases? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Pooled it
- Obesity Prevention Interventions and Implications for Energy Balance in the United States and Mexico: A Systematic Review of the Evidence and Meta-Analysis.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2019Pooled it
- Long-Term Aerobic Exercise Improves Vascular Function Into Old Age: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta Regression of Observational and Interventional Studies.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Pooled it
- The required step count for a reduction in blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of human hypertension · 2018Pooled it
- Web-Based Interventions Targeting Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Middle-Aged and Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Impact of Activity Tracker Usage in Combination with a Physical Activity Intervention on Physical and Cognitive Parameters in Healthy Adults Aged 60+: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Endothelial function following interval exercise plus low-calorie diet treatment in obese females.Physiological reports · 2019Trial
- Lactobacillus plantarum 299v Supplementation Improves Vascular Endothelial Function and Reduces Inflammatory Biomarkers in Men With Stable Coronary Artery Disease.Circulation research · 2018Trial
- Cluster randomized controlled trial of a multilevel physical activity intervention for older adults.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Trial
- Associations of Reducing Sedentary Time With Vascular Function and Insulin Sensitivity in Older Sedentary Adults.American journal of hypertension · 2016Trial
- The impact of age and exercise training on endothelial-mediated mechanisms of vasodilation during passive leg movement in males.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2026Article
- Affordable fitness tracker step count, heart rate and calorie expenditure validation in controlled environment: a cross-sectional study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Physical activity and cardiovascular risk in obese older Korean women: effects on obesity, hypertension, and arterial stiffness.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAge-related endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffening are associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk. Many groups have encouraged goals of ≥10 000 steps/day or ≥30 min/day of moderate intensity physical activity (MPA) to reduce age-related CV risk. The impact of MPA on the vasculature of older adults remains unclear. METHODS AND
resultsWe randomized 114 sedentary older adults ages ≥50 to 12 weeks of either no intervention (group 1), a pedometer-only intervention (group 2), or a pedometer with an interactive website employing strategies to increase the adoption of habitual physical activity (PA, group 3). Endothelial function by brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD%), vascular stiffness by tonometry, step-count by pedometer, and PA intensity/distribution by accelerometer were measured. Step-count increased in groups 2 (5136±1554 to 9596±3907, P<0.001) and 3 (5474±1512 to 8167±3111, P<0.001) but not in group 1 (4931±1667 to 5410±2410). Both groups 2 and 3 increased MPA ≥30 min/day. Only group 3 increased MPA in continuous bouts of ≥10 minutes (P<0.001) and improved FMD% (P=0.001). Neither achievement of ≥10 000 steps/day nor ≥30 min/day of MPA resulted in improved FMD%. However, achieving ≥20 min/day in MPA bouts resulted in improved FMD%. No changes in vascular stiffness were observed.
conclusionsMPA reverses age-related endothelial dysfunction, but may require MPA to be performed in bouts of ≥10 minutes duration for ≥20 min/day to be effective. Commonly encouraged PA goals do not guarantee improved endothelial function and may not be as effective in reducing CV risk. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL: Clinicaltrials.gov. UNIQUE IDENTIFIER: NCT-01212978.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.