Relation Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Research Articles

Life's Essential 8 Cardiovascular Health Score and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in the Community.

The relation of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) to lifestyle behaviors and factors linked with cardiovascular health remains unclear. We aimed to understand how the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score (and its changes over time) relate to CRF and complementary exercise measures in community-dwelling adults. Framingham Heart Study (FHS) participants underwent maximum effort cardiopulmonary exercise testing for direct quantification of peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2). A 100-point LE8 score was constructed as the average across 8 factors: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep, body mass index, lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. We related total LE8 score, score components, and change in LE8 score over 8 years with peak V̇O2 (log-transformed) and complementary CRF measures. In age- and sex-adjusted linear models (N=1838, age 54±9 years, 54% women, LE8 score 76±12), a higher LE8 score was associated favorably with peak V̇O2, ventilatory efficiency, resting heart rate, and blood pressure response to exercise (all P<0.0001). A clinically meaningful 5-point higher LE8 score was associated with a 6.0% greater peak V̇O2 (≈1.4 mL/kg per minute at sample mean). All LE8 components were significantly associated with peak V̇O2 in models adjusted for age and sex, but blood lipids, diet, and sleep health were no longer statistically significant after adjustment for all LE8 components. Over an ≈8-year interval, a 5-unit increase in LE8 score was associated with a 3.7% higher peak V̇O2 (P<0.0001). Higher LE8 score and improvement in LE8 over time was associated with greater CRF, highlighting the importance of the LE8 factors in maintaining CRF.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in Men and Women in the United States: A Prospective Evaluation From the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study

ObjectivesTo examine the relation between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a large US adult population and to study the effects of hypertension, obesity, and health status on the relation of CRF with SCD. Patients and MethodsA total of 55,456 individuals (mean age, 44.2 years; 13,507 women) from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, a prospective observational investigation (from January 2, 1974, through December 31, 2002), were included. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a maximal treadmill test, and baseline assessment included an extensive set of measurements. ResultsThere were 109 SCDs. An inverse risk of SCD was found across incremental CRF levels after adjusting for potential confounders. Participants with moderate and high CRF levels had 44% (hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.35-0.90) and 48% (hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.30-0.92) significantly lower risk of SCD, respectively, than did those with low CRF levels (P<.001). The risk of SCD decreased by 14% (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77-0.96) per 1-metabolic equivalent increase in the fully adjusted model. Hypertensive, overweight, or unhealthy individuals with moderate to high CRF levels had lower risks of SCD (ranging from 58% to 72% of lower risk) than did those with the same medical conditions and low CRF levels. ConclusionThe risk of SCD in US men and women could be partially reduced by ensuring moderate to high levels of CRF independently of other risk factors and especially in those who are hypertensive, overweight, or unhealthy.

From cognitive motor preparation to visual processing: The benefits of childhood fitness to brain health

The association between a fit body and a fit brain in children has led to a rise of behavioral and neuroscientific research. Yet, the relation of cardiorespiratory fitness on premotor neurocognitive preparation with early visual processing has received little attention. Here, 41 healthy, lower and higher fit preadolescent children were administered a modified version of the Eriksen flanker task while electroencephalography (EEG) and behavioral measures were recorded. Event-related potentials (ERPs) locked to the stimulus onset with an earlier than usual baseline (−900/−800ms) allowed investigation of both the usual post-stimulus (i.e., the P1, N1 and P2) as well as the pre-stimulus ERP components, such as the Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and the prefrontal negativity (pN component). At the behavioral level, aerobic fitness was associated response accuracy, with higher fit children being more accurate than lower fit children. Fitness-related differences selectively emerged at prefrontal brain regions during response preparation, with larger pN amplitude for higher than lower fit children, and at early perceptual stages after stimulus onset, with larger P1 and N1 amplitudes in higher relative to lower fit children. Collectively, the results suggest that the benefits of being aerobically fit appear at the stage of cognitive preparation prior to stimulus presentation and the behavioral response during the performance of a task that challenges cognitive control. Further, it is likely that enhanced activity in prefrontal brain areas may improve cognitive control of visuo-motor tasks, allowing for stronger proactive inhibition and larger early allocation of selective attention resources on relevant external stimuli.

The Relation of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity With Cancer Mortality in Men

Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and overweight are associated with increased cancer mortality. PURPOSE: To explore the relation between baseline CRF, various measures of adiposity and cancer mortality in men. METHODS: 38,410 men (mean age 43.8 + 9.9 years) who were without known cancer, underwent a comprehensive preventive health examination at the Cooper Clinic between 1970–2001. Clinical measures included Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), percent body fat (%fat), and CRF from a maximal treadmill exercise test. Participants were divided into quartiles of CRF, BMI, WC, and % fat. Mortality surveillance was completed through December 31, 2003. Hazard ratios were computed with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up period of 17.2 years, 1,037 cancer deaths occurred. Following adjustment for age, examination year, baseline health status and smoking status, hazard ratios across incremental BMI quartiles were 1.0, 1.07, 1.13, and 1.46; those of WC were 1.0, 0.98, 1.03, and 1.56; those of %fat were 1.0, 1.12, 1.09, and 1.31; and those of CRF were 1.0, 0.83,0.75, and 0.61 (trend p < 0.01 for each). Further adjustment for CRF eliminated the cancer mortality risk associated with %fat, and attenuated the risk associated with BMI and WC. Adjustment of CRF for adiposity measures had little effect on mortality risk. Restricting analyses to only men with greater than 3 years of follow-up did not materially change the results reported above. CONCLUSION: Higher levels of CRF are associated with lower cancer mortality risk in men, independent of several adiposity measures. These findings underscore the importance of CRF in addition to adiposity, as a determinant of cancer mortality in men. Supported by NIH grants AG06945 and HL 62508