Aims: To investigate the effectiveness of a 3-year worksite lifestyle intervention on cardiovascular metrics and to study whether outcomes are influenced by baseline subclinical atherosclerosis (SA) by non-invasive imaging.
Methods and results: A randomized controlled trial was performed to compare a lifestyle intervention with standard of care in asymptomatic middle-aged subjects, stratified by SA. The intervention consisted of nine motivational interviews during the first year, followed by three further sessions between Years 1 and 3. The primary outcome was the change in a pre-specified adaptation of the Fuster-BEWAT score (Blood pressure, Exercise, Weight, Alimentation, and Tobacco) between baseline and follow-up Years 1-3. A total of 1020 participants (mean age 50 ± 4 years) were enrolled, of whom 510 were randomly assigned to the intervention and 510 to the control group. The baseline adapted Fuster-BEWAT score was 16.2 ± 3.7 points in the intervention group and 16.5 ± 3.5 points in the control group. At Year 1, the score improved significantly in intervention participants compared with controls [estimate 0.83 (95% CI 0.52-1.15) points]. However, intervention effectiveness decreased to non-significant levels at Year 3 [0.24 (95% CI -0.10 to 0.59) points]. Over the 3-year period, the intervention was effective in participants having low baseline SA [0.61 (95% CI 0.30-0.93) points] but not in those with high baseline SA [0.19 (95% CI -0.26 to 0.64) points].
Conclusion: In middle-aged asymptomatic adults, a lifestyle intervention was associated with a significant improvement in cardiovascular health and behavioural metrics. The effect attenuated after 1 year as the intensity of the intervention was reduced.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02561065).
Keywords: Cardiovascular; Lifestyle intervention; Randomized controlled trial; Subclinical atherosclerosis.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.