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Review
. 2010 Nov;24(4 Suppl):27-35.
doi: 10.1177/1359786810382057.

Mortality trends in the general population: the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness

Duck-chul Lee  1 , Enrique G Artero, Xuemei Sui, Steven N Blair
Affiliations
Review

Mortality trends in the general population: the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness

Duck-chul Lee et al. J Psychopharmacol. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is not only an objective measure of habitual physical activity, but also a useful diagnostic and prognostic health indicator for patients in clinical settings. Although compelling evidence has shown that CRF is a strong and independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, the importance of CRF is often overlooked from a clinical perspective compared with other risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, or obesity. Several prospective studies indicate that CRF is at least as important as the traditional risk factors, and is often more strongly associated with mortality. In addition, previous studies report that CRF appears to attenuate the increased risk of death associated with obesity. Most individuals can improve their CRF through regular physical activity. Several biological mechanisms suggest that CRF improves insulin sensitivity, blood lipid profile, body composition, inflammation, and blood pressure. Based on the evidence, health professionals should encourage their patients to improve CRF through regular physical activity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Relative risks of (A) all-cause and (B) cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality by cardiorespiratory fitness quintiles for 40,451 (2657 all-cause and 943 CVD deaths) men and 12,831 (375 all-cause and 90 CVD deaths) women aged 20–100 years without CVD or cancer in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Cardiorespiratory fitness is measured by total duration during a maximal treadmill exercise test. Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) are shown inside the bars and adjusted for age, year of examination, body mass index, smoking status, abnormal electrocardiogram, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and family history of CVD.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Age-adjusted relative risks of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality by change in cardiorespiratory fitness for 9777 (223 all-cause and 87 CVD deaths) men aged 20–82 in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Cardiorespiratory fitness is measured by total duration during a maximal treadmill exercise test. Unfit is defined as quintile 1 (20%) and fit is defined as quintiles 2–5 (80%) of age-specific maximal exercise duration. Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) are shown inside the bars. (Adapted from Blair et al. (1995)).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Change in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) by physical activity. (Adapted from Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee (2008)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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