Relationship Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness Level And Hypertension In Japanese Olympic Athletes In Tokyo 1964; A Cohort Study.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Few cohort studies have assessed the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and incidence of hypertension among top athletes. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness level and the incidence of hypertension in Japanese Olympic athletes in Tokyo 1964. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of Japanese Olympic athletes. The participants were 156 Olympic athletes who took physical fitness tests in 1964 and followed up until 2016. A cardiorespiratory fitness level was evaluated by the Harvard Step Test (tertile). We determined the incidence of hypertension in self-reported questionnaires in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for the incidence of hypertension were obtained using logistic regression models while adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index. In addition, a trend test was conducted to examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness level and hypertension. RESULTS: There were 156 participants (135 men, 21 women) with a median age of 23 years old (range: 15-33 years) in 1964. During the follow-up period, 68 participants developed hypertension. Using the lowest cardiorespiratory fitness (1st tertile) group as a reference, odds ratios and 95% CIs for the 2nd and 3rd tertiles were 0.75 (0.34-1.67) and 0.59 (0.27-1.31), respectively(p for trend = 0.19). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a low cardiorespiratory fitness level is a risk factor for the incidence of hypertension in Japanese Olympic Athletes.