To date, few studies have examined the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in populations at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).PurposeTo examine the association between objectively measured CRF and physical and mental components of HRQoL in a Uruguayan cohort at risk for developing CVD.MethodsPatient data records from 2002–2012 at the Calidad de Vida Center were examined. To assess CRF, participants performed a submaximal exercise test. During the evaluation, participants also completed the SF-36, a HRQoL measure comprised of eight dimensions that are summarized by physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS, respectively). ANCOVA was used to examine the relationship between HRQoL dimensions and CRF. Logistic regression was then used to compare the odds of having a HRQoL component score above the norm across CRF. All analyses were performed separately for males and females with additional stratified analyses across age and BMI conducted among significant trends.ResultsA total of 2,302 subjects were included in the analysis. Among females, a significant relationship was observed between CRF and vitality, physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, and general health dimensions. However, for males the only dimension found to be significantly associated with CRF was physical health. After adjusting for potential confounders, a significant linear trend (p<0.001) for PCS scores above the norm across CRF levels was observed for females only.ConclusionAmong females with one or more risk factors for developing CVD, higher levels of CRF were positively associated with the vitality and physical dimensions of HRQoL, as well as the overall PCS. However, among males the only dimension associated with CRF was physical functioning. Future studies should examine this relationship among populations at risk for developing CVD in more detail and over time.

Objective To examine the longitudinal association between sedentary behaviors and risk of developing depressive symptoms. Patients and Methods 1012 women and 3790 men (18–80 yr) not reporting depressive moods completed a health survey during 1982 when they reported their time spent watching television (TV) and riding in a car each week. All participants completed a follow-up health survey when they responded to the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D 10). Those who scored 8 or more on the CES-D 10 were considered to have depressive symptoms. Results 568 participants reported depressive symptoms during an average follow-up of 9.3 years. After multivariate-adjustment including moderate- and vigorous- intensity physical activity (MVPA), time in riding in a car, watching TV and combined time spent in the two sedentary behaviors were positively (P trend <.05 for each) associated with depressive symptoms. Individuals who reported ≥9 hrs/wk riding in a car, >10 hrs/wk watching TV, or ≥19 hrs/wk of combined sedentary behavior had 28%, 52%, and 74% greater risk of developing depressive symptoms than those who reported <5 hrs/wk, <5 hrs/wk, or <12 hrs/wk, respectively after adjusting for baseline covariates and MVPA. The positive association between time in riding in a car or time in watching TV and depressive symptoms was only observed among individual who did not meet the current PA guidelines. Conclusion Longer time reported in these two sedentary behaviors was positively associated with depressive symptoms. The direct associations between time spent in car riding and TV viewing, with depressive symptoms, were however only significant among those who did not meet the current PA recommendation.

Background Most of the existing literature has linked either a baseline cardiorespiratory fitness, or change between baseline and one follow-up measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness, to hypertension. The purpose of the study is to assess the association between longitudinal patterns of cardiorespiratory fitness changes with time and incident hypertension in adult men and women. Patients and Methods Participants were aged from 20 to 82 years, free of hypertension during the first three examinations, and received at least four preventive medical examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX, during 1971 – 2006. They were classified into one of five groups based on all of the measured cardiorespiratory fitness values (in metabolic equivalents) during maximal treadmill tests. Logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results Among a total of 4,932 participants (13% women), 1,954 developed hypertension. After controlling for baseline potential confounders, follow-up duration, and number of follow-up visits, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for hypertension were: 1.00 for decreasing group (referent), 0.64 (0.52–0.80) for increasing, 0.89 (0.70–1.12) for Bell-shape, 0.78 (0.62–0.98) for U-shape, and 0.83 (0.69–1.00) for inconsistent group. The general pattern of the association was consistent regardless of participants’ baseline cardiorespiratory fitness or body mass index levels. Conclusion An increasing pattern of cardiorespiratory fitness provides the lowest risk of hypertension in this middle-aged relatively healthy population. Identifying specific pattern(s) of cardiorespiratory fitness change may be important for determining associations with comorbidity such as hypertension.