Purpose: Compare the effects of a bout of maximal aerobic running exercise(MARE) on local, central, peripheral and whole body arterial stiffness in children and adults.

Methods: Thirty-five children(girls:49%) aged 5(n=18) and 9(n=17) years-old and 45 adults(women:53%) aged 19(n=21) and 30(n=24) years-old performed a single bout of MARE on a treadmill. Local(LO) pulse wave velocity(PWV) was performed on the carotid artery with technology based on radio frequency signals. Central(carotid-femoral; CF), peripheral(carotid-radial; CR) and whole body(carotid-distal posterial-tibial; CD) PWV(m/s) were obtained using applanation tonometry before and 10min after MARE. Univariate analysis of variance were used to detect age-group differences between pre-post changes(%) with exercise(p<0.05), adjusted for sex, mean brachial arterial pressure(bMAP) and %body fat by DXA.

Results: Children had lower baseline LO(5: 3.11; 9: 4.37), CF(5: 3.50; 9: 6.11), and CD(5: 4.88; 9: 7.11) PWV than adults. Children at the age of 9 had the highest changes in CF(27.17%) and CR(18.02%) PWV with exercise and changes were significantly different from those at the age of 30(CF: 3.91%; CR: −4.95%). PWV of 5 year-old children decreased after exercise in LO(−8.30%) and CD(−4.06%) and the changes were significantly different from those of 20 year-old subjects(LO: 13.56% and CD: −6.55%). Changes in LO, CF, and CD PWV with exercise were not significantly different between either adult’s groups or children’s groups.

Conclusions: Children had lower PWV than adults at rest. MARE elicited different site dependent arterial responses between children and adults that could not be explained by bMAP and sex.