Background: This study explored the relationship between fitness performance, in terms of muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.Methods and Results:The study was performed on 51,500 eligible participants from the Republic of China Armed Forces. Participants were divided into 4 groups (obese or non-obese males and females). Correlations between the Framingham risk score of coronary artery disease (FRS-CAD) and physical fitness (evaluated using 2-min push-ups, 2-min sit-ups, and 3,000-m non-weight-bearing running tests) were calculated using univariate and multivariate linear regression, as well as an extended model that adjusted for covariates. In males, regardless of obesity status, there were significant negative correlations between quartiles of fitness performance and the FRS-CAD (P<0.001) in the unadjusted and adjusted models, except for the sit-up test in the model adjusted for age, serum uric acid, hemoglobin, creatinine, current drinking, betel nut chewing, and running test speed. FRS-CAD was lower for higher quartiles of physical fitness (P for trend <0.001) in male participants. However, no significant relationship between fitness performance and FRS-CAD was observed in females, regardless of obesity status.
Conclusions: The findings highlighted a substantial association between fitness performance and FRS-CAD, especially in adult males. Muscular endurance and CRF may be a convenient risk evaluation tool for future CVD risk in the general, healthy, young to middle-aged male population in Taiwan.
Keywords: Cardiorespiratory fitness; Cardiorespiratory risk; Muscular endurance; Physical fitness.