Relationship between the percentage of predicted cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular disease risk factors in premenopausal women: a MONET study

Abstract

Objective To determine the relationships between the percentage predicted cardiorespiratory fitness (%CRF) and the anthropometric and metabolic cardiovascular disease risk factors in asymptomatic, premenopausal women.

Methods Data are baseline values obtained in 97 healthy premenopausal women (age 49.9 ± 1.9 years; body mass index 23.2 ± 2.2 kg/m²) participating in a longitudinal study from 2004 to 2009. The outcome measures were peak oxygen consumption (VO₂ peak), body mass index, body composition (percentage fat, fat mass, fat-free mass), waist circumference, abdominal subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, resting blood pressure and fasting lipids, glucose and insulin levels.

Results The %CRF was negatively associated with body mass index, fat mass, percentage fat, waist circumference, abdominal subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, triglycerides, triglyceride/high density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR (− 0.59 ≤ r ≤ − 0.20; 0.01 < p < 0.05) and positively associated with insulin sensitivity index (r  =  0.23; p < 0.05). VO₂ peak was associated with the same variables; however, correlations were slightly better (− 0.70 ≤ r ≤ 0.30; 0.01 < p < 0.05). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that %CRF was only independently correlated with plasma triglyceride levels.

Conclusion The results of this study suggest that %CRF was not a major predictor of anthropometric and metabolic variables associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic premenopausal women. Finally, the VO₂ peak is a better predictor than the %CRF to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic premenopausal women.

Key words:

• CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS
• CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS
• BODY COMPOSITION
• METABOLIC PROFILE
• PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mrs Ann Beninato for excellent technical support, and physician Dr Genevieve Leroux and Miss Veronique Bertrand for analyzing the computed tomography scans.

Conflict of interest  The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Source of funding  This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (T 0602145.02 to D. Prud'homme, R. Rabasa-Lhoret and M. Brochu).