Objectively Assessed Cardiorespiratory Fitness and All-Cause Mortality Risk: An Updated Meta-analysis of 37 Cohort Studies Involving 2,258,029 Participants

Methodology

Meta-analysis

Population

37 cohort studies, 2,258,029 participants, 108,613 all-cause mortality events

Intervention

Exposure: objectively assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (exercise testing), top vs bottom tertile and per 1-MET increment

Findings

Objectively assessed cardiorespiratory fitness is strongly associated with lower all-cause mortality: the top fitness tertile had 45% lower risk than the bottom tertile, and each 1-MET increase was linked to 11% lower risk. The association was consistent across publication year, age, sex and assessment method.

Outcome measures

All-cause mortality

Limitations

Observational design; CRF measured once at baseline; residual confounding by health status and reverse causation possible.

Original source

DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.02.029 · PMID: 35562197