Cardiovascular risk profile and training status of recreational athletes with or without abnormal ECG findings, respectively
| Normal ECG | Abnormal ECG | Univariate analysis | Multivariate analysis | |
| n=89 | n=18 | p Value* | OR (95% CI) | |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 48 (44–50) | 54 (48–59) | 0.004 | 1.11 (1.01 to 1.23) |
| Female gender, % (n) | 24.7 (22) | 22.2 (4) | 0.822 | |
| Physical activity | ||||
| Marathon runs ≤5 years, median (IQR) | 5 (4–10) | 6 (4–7) | 0.923 | |
| Marathon runs total, n, median (IQR) | 9 (5–18) | 7 (6–14) | 0.573 | |
| Current running, km/week, median (IQR) | 65 (50–80) | 58 (50–70) | 0.151 | |
| Regular running, km/week, median (IQR) | 40 (30–50) | 40 (30–50) | 0.409 | |
| Present marathon time, min, median (IQR) | 238 (215–268) | 275 (229–326) | 0.009 | 1.44 (0.98 to 2.12) |
| Haematocrit post-race, %, median (IQR) | 0.44 (0.41–0.45) | 0.43 (0.41–0.45) | 0.711 | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2, mean±SD | 23.2±2.2 | 23.6±1.9 | 0.449 | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Hypertension, % (n) | 6.7 (6) | 16.7 (3) | 0.166 | |
| Hyperlipidaemia, % (n) | 2.2 (2) | 2.8 (3) | 0.438 | |
| Current smoking, % (n) | 5.6 (5) | 11.1 (2) | 0.390 |
ST-segment deviation, atrioventricular or ventricular arrhythmias (atrioventricular block grade IIb or III, triplets, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia) or atrial fibrillation were regarded as abnormal findings. Values are expressed in % (n), mean±SD or median (IQR) as appropriate. Multivariate analysis was calculated in a binary logistic regression model using backwards selection.
*p Value calculated by χ2 test or Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate.