Predictors of Endothelial Function in Employees With Sedentary Occupations in a Worksite Exercise Program

A sedentary workforce may be at increased risk for future cardiovascular disease. Exercise at the work site has been advocated, but effects on endothelium as a biomarker of risk and relation to weight loss, lipid changes, or circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have not been reported. Seventy-two office and laboratory employees (58 women; average age 45 years, range 22 to 62; 26 with body mass index values >30 kg/m 2 ) completed 3 months of participation in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Keep the Beat program, with the determination of vital signs, laboratory data, and peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 ) during treadmill exercise. Brachial artery endothelium was tested by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), which at baseline was inversely associated with Framingham risk score (r = −0.3689, p