Association Between Arterial Stiffness, Body Mass Index And Cardiorespiratory Fitness In 7-to-17 Years Old Children

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Excess adiposity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, however, the obesity paradox suggests the existence of a subpopulation of obese individuals that do not suffer from those cardiovascular risks. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a strong indicator of cardiovascular health in children and adults. Both obesity and low CRF have shown to independently increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate how central arterial stiffness is associated with aerobic capacity and body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI) in children aged 7-to-17-years. METHODS: Seventy healthy children, 34 boys and 36 girls (age 7-17 years; BMI 21.5±5.4 kg/m2; fat mass 23.4±11.5%), participated in this study. Percentage of fat mass (FM%) and fat free mass (FFM) were assessed using air displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod COSMED). Arterial stiffness was assessed measuring carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) with the SphygmoCor XCEL (AtCor Medical, Inc.). CRF was assessed through breath-by-breath gas analysis (K5, COSMED) using a 15 watts per minute graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer. The VO2 at the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) was identified using the V-slope technique and as the lowest respiratory equivalent for oxygen. Differences in cfPWV between quartiles of VO2 at VT1, %BF, and BMI were assessed using a multivariate general linear model. RESULTS: cfPWV was higher in the first VO2 at VT1 quartile compared to the fourth when VO2 is normalized by FFM (4.99±0.73 vs 4.24±0.69 m/s, p<0.05). No differences in cfPWV were observed between first and fourth VO2 at VT1 quartiles when VO2 is normalized by body mass (5.05±0.92 vs 4.34±0.71 m/s). cfPWV was higher in the fourth and third BMI quartile compared to the first (4.26±0.53 and 4.90±0.66 vs 5.09±0.89, p<0.05) but no differences in cfPWV were observed between fourth, third and first BF% quartiles (5.06±1.04, 4.57±0.54, 4.61±0.64). CONCLUSION: Low central arterial stiffness in children is associated with high CRF expressed as VO2 at VT1, and with low BMI.