Banca de DEFESA: JOSE DOS SANTOS FIGUEIREDO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : JOSE DOS SANTOS FIGUEIREDO
DATE: 11/03/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: REMOTA
TITLE:

CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH OF ROAD RUNNERS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

KEY WORDS:

cardiovascular disease, physical activity, running, marathon

PAGES: 60
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Educação Física
SUMMARY:

Background: Over the past decade, there has been an exponential growth in road running events in Brazil. Therefore, understanding the cardiovascular risk profile of participants is relevant, as strenuous physical exertion may trigger acute cardiovascular events.

Objective: To assess the profile of ideal cardiovascular health among recreational runners and explore associated sociodemographic and health-related factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adult recreational runners participating in a large road running event in Brazil (5 km, 10 km, and half-marathon). Ideal cardiovascular health was assessed using a self-reported model comprising four behavioral metrics (smoking, physical activity, body mass index, and diet) and three biological metrics (blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose). Metrics were classified as ideal or non-ideal, and overall scores were categorized as “ideal” (≥5 ideal metrics), “intermediate” (3–4 ideal metrics), or “poor” (≤2 ideal metrics). Associations with sociodemographic factors (age, sex, income, and education) and health-related factors (self-rated health and time since last medical check-up) were examined using chi-square tests and multivariable Poisson regression models.

Results: A total of 520 runners were included in the final analysis (42.4 ± 10.7 years; 41.2% women; 5 km: n = 118; 10 km: n = 167; half-marathon: n = 235). Overall, 74.4% presented an “ideal,” 24.1% an “intermediate,” and 1.6% a “poor” cardiovascular health profile. Only 7.7% achieved all four ideal behavioral metrics, whereas 70.0% achieved all three ideal biological metrics. Non-smoking, physical activity, and normal blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose showed the highest prevalence of ideal metrics (81.1–99.0%), while ideal body mass index and diet were less common (50.6% and 13.5%, respectively). The prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health scores varied by age, sex, income, education, self-rated health, and time since last medical check-up (p < 0.05), but not by race distance (5 km, 10 km, or half-marathon) (p > 0.05). In adjusted models, higher income was associated with better overall and behavioral ideal cardiovascular health metrics, whereas younger age and better self-rated health were associated with favorable biological metrics (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Overall, recreational runners participating in a large road running event in Brazil exhibited favorable indicators of ideal cardiovascular health. However, only approximately half and 15% of participants had ideal body mass index and diet, respectively. Moreover, disparities across sociodemographic subgroups highlight the need for targeted strategies to identify recreational runners at higher cardiovascular risk.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 1793257 - ARNALDO LUIS MORTATTI
Presidente - 2682821 - EDUARDO CALDAS COSTA
Externo à Instituição - FELIPE VOGT CUREAU - UFPB
Externo à Instituição - MARCELO HENRIQUE ALVES FERREIRA DA SILVA - UERN
Interno - 2646619 - RODRIGO PEGADO DE ABREU FREITAS