Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Inversely Associated With Aortic Arterial Stiffness in Firefighters : Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Inversely Associated With Aortic Arterial Stiffness in Firefighters

Nagel, Tom R. MS; Melton, Bridget F. EdD; Keeler, Jason M. PhD; Cross, Brett L. MS; Blumenburg, Wesley T. MS; Flatt, Andrew A. PhD; Stoner, Lee PhD; Grosicki, Gregory J. PhD

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Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 64(10):p e641-e646, October 2022. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002657

Objectives 

The aim of this study was to determine whether cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), expressed as VO2max (mL/kg/min), is associated with resting AS (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity [cf-PWV]) and the AS response to simulated fire suppression activities in firefighters.

Methods 

In firefighters (n = 20, 34 ± 8 years), AS was determined using cf-PWV (m/s) before and after a fire simulation exercise. VO2max was determined using a standard treadmill protocol. Linear regression models, adjusted for body fat percentage, are reported as unstandardized (b) and standardized (β) betas (effect sizes).

Results 

H1: there was a moderate (ie, β = 0.5–0.8), inverse association between cf-PWV and VO2max (b = −0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.14 to −0.02; β = 0.71). H2: there was a moderate, positive association between ∆cf-PWV and VO2max (b = 0.05; 95% CI, 0.00–0.10; β = 0.62).

Conclusions 

These findings indicate that CRF may protect against arterial stiffening in firefighters.

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