Abstract
Background
The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between non-exercise
estimated cardiorespiratory fitness and incident hypertension by sex.
Methods
A total of 5513 participants (4403 men and 1110 women) free of hypertension from the
Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study were followed for incident hypertension, which
was determined as resting systolic or diastolic blood pressure at least 130/80 mm
Hg or physician diagnosis. Non-exercise estimated cardiorespiratory fitness was estimated
in metabolic equivalents (METs) with sex-specific algorithms. Age, body mass index,
waist circumference, and resting heart rate were used as continuous variables, whereas
being physically active and current smoking were dichotomous variables. Multivariable
Cox regression models were used to examine the association between cardiorespiratory
fitness and risk of developing hypertension. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals
(CIs) were reported as an index of strength of association.
Results
During an average follow-up of 5 years, 61.7% of men and 39.5% of women developed
hypertension. In men, the upper and middle tertiles of cardiorespiratory fitness had
22% (95% CI, 0.71-0.86) and 10% (95% CI, 0.82-0.99) lower risk, respectively, of developing
hypertension compared with those in the lower tertile. In women, the upper and middle
tertiles of cardiorespiratory fitness had 30% (95% CI, 0.55-0.88) and 6% (95% CI,
0.74-1.18) lower risk, respectively, of developing hypertension. Each 1-MET increment
was associated with a 10% higher risk of incident hypertension in the overall sample.
Conclusion
Cardiorespiratory fitness estimated using a non-exercise algorithm is inversely associated
with risk of developing hypertension in men and women.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 27, 2022
Footnotes
Funding: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants AG06945 , HL62508 , and DK088195 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Conflicts of Interest: None.
Authorship: XS, PK, CJL, and JZ have given substantial contributions to the conception or the design of the manuscript; PHP, MG, and XS to analysis and interpretation of the data. All authors have participated in drafting and critically revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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