The combination of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness, and prevalence of diabetes mellitus in middle-aged and older men: WASEDA'S Health Study

Dong Wang; Susumu S Sawada; Hiroki Tabata; Ryoko Kawakami; Tomoko Ito; Kumpei Tanisawa; Mitsuru Higuchi; Kaori Ishii; Koichiro Oka; Katsuhiko Suzuki; Shizuo Sakamoto

doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12971-x

The combination of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness, and prevalence of diabetes mellitus in middle-aged and older men: WASEDA'S Health Study

BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 30;22(1):626. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12971-x.

Authors

Dong Wang¹, Susumu S Sawada², Hiroki Tabata^{3

4}, Ryoko Kawakami⁵, Tomoko Ito^{3

6}, Kumpei Tanisawa⁵, Mitsuru Higuchi⁵, Kaori Ishii⁵, Koichiro Oka⁵, Katsuhiko Suzuki⁵, Shizuo Sakamoto⁵

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
² Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan. s-sawada@waseda.jp.
³ Waseda Institute for Sport Sciences, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa City, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
⁴ Sportology Center, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-15-8 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
⁶ Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Home Economics, Tokyo Kasei University, Tokyo, 173-8602, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Although the negative relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) or muscular fitness and diabetes mellitus were respectively observed in many previous studies, there is still a lack of studies that include CRF and muscular fitness simultaneously. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the combination of CRF and muscular fitness and diabetes through a cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study was part of WASEDA'S Health Study, a cohort study launched in 2014. We used a part of the baseline data collected for this study. Maximal exercise test using a cycle ergometer and leg extension power (LEP) test were respectively used to evaluate CRF and muscular fitness. Since LEP is affected by body weight, relative LEP (rLEP) which is LEP per body weight, was used as an index of muscular fitness. 796 men (56.5 ± 10.4 years old) who completed a medical examination and fitness tests, were divided into two groups based on CRF and rLEP, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes was collected based on a self-reported questionnaire or blood test. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of diabetes were obtained using logistic regression models while adjusting for age, body mass index, exercise habits, family history of diabetes, smoking habits, and drinking habits.

Results: 55 (7%) participants had diabetes. Compared to participants with lower CRF or rLEP, the odds ratio (95% CIs) of diabetes in those with higher CRF or rLEP was 0.46 (0.21-0.98) or 0.34 (0.16-0.74), respectively. Furthermore, using the lower CRF and lower rLEP group as the reference, the odds ratio (95% CIs) for the lower CRF and higher rLEP group was 0.32 (0.12-0.88), and higher CRF and higher rLEP group was 0.21 (0.07-0.63), after adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Conclusions: CRF and rLEP have independent and joint inverse associations with diabetes prevalence. In addition, participants with high CRF and high rLEP had a lower prevalence of diabetes compared to those with only high CRF or only high rLEP.

Keywords: Aerobic capacity; Epidemiology; Muscle mass; Muscle strength; Physical activity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Cardiorespiratory Fitness*
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diabetes Mellitus* / epidemiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Physical Fitness
Prevalence