Erica N Howard1, Georita M Frierson, Benjamin L Willis, William L Haskell, Tiffany M Powell-Wiley, Laura F Defina. 1. 1The Cooper Institute, Dallas, TX; 2Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC; 3Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; and 4Cardiovascular Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Previous studies suggest that African Americans (AA) have lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) than their Caucasian (C) counterparts. However, the association between CRF and race/ethnicity in the context of higher socioeconomic status (SES) has not been explored. METHODS: We evaluated 589 AA (309 men and 203 women) and 33,015 C (19,399 men and 8753 women) enrolled in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. Education years and access to a preventive health care examination were used as a proxy for higher SES. Data were collected from a questionnaire, maximal treadmill exercise stress test, and other clinical measures. The outcome variable was CRF, which was stratified into low fit (quintile 1 of CRF) and fit (quintiles 2-5). Multivariable regression was used to compare adjusted mean CRF between groups. P values were adjusted for unbalanced sample size and unequal variance between groups. RESULTS: The mean education years were similar for AA and C men at 16 yr; however, AA women had more years of education than C (15.8 vs 15.2 yr, P = 0.0062). AA men and women had a significantly higher prevalence of being unfit compared with their C counterparts (men 26.7% vs 12.6%, P < 0.0001; women 21.3% vs 8.4%, P < 0.0001). The adjusted mean estimated maximal METs were 10.9 vs 11.7 and 8.8 vs 9.8 for AA and C men and women, respectively. Fully adjusted odds ratios revealed that AA men had more than twice the risk of being unfit compared with C men. A trend persisted for AA women to have a lower MET value than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Despite comparable higher SES, lower CRF existed among AA men versus C men. These results suggest that CRF may not be mediated strictly by environmental factors related to SES.
PURPOSE: Previous studies suggest that African Americans (AA) have lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) than their Caucasian (C) counterparts. However, the association between CRF and race/ethnicity in the context of higher socioeconomic status (SES) has not been explored. METHODS: We evaluated 589 AA (309 men and 203 women) and 33,015 C (19,399 men and 8753 women) enrolled in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. Education years and access to a preventive health care examination were used as a proxy for higher SES. Data were collected from a questionnaire, maximal treadmill exercise stress test, and other clinical measures. The outcome variable was CRF, which was stratified into low fit (quintile 1 of CRF) and fit (quintiles 2-5). Multivariable regression was used to compare adjusted mean CRF between groups. P values were adjusted for unbalanced sample size and unequal variance between groups. RESULTS: The mean education years were similar for AA and C men at 16 yr; however, AA women had more years of education than C (15.8 vs 15.2 yr, P = 0.0062). AA men and women had a significantly higher prevalence of being unfit compared with their C counterparts (men 26.7% vs 12.6%, P < 0.0001; women 21.3% vs 8.4%, P < 0.0001). The adjusted mean estimated maximal METs were 10.9 vs 11.7 and 8.8 vs 9.8 for AA and C men and women, respectively. Fully adjusted odds ratios revealed that AA men had more than twice the risk of being unfit compared with C men. A trend persisted for AA women to have a lower MET value than their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Despite comparable higher SES, lower CRF existed among AA men versus C men. These results suggest that CRF may not be mediated strictly by environmental factors related to SES.
Authors: B E Ainsworth; W L Haskell; M C Whitt; M L Irwin; A M Swartz; S J Strath; W L O'Brien; D R Bassett; K H Schmitz; P O Emplaincourt; D R Jacobs; A S Leon Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc Date: 2000-09 Impact factor: 5.411
Authors: Martha Gulati; Dilip K Pandey; Morton F Arnsdorf; Diane S Lauderdale; Ronald A Thisted; Roxanne H Wicklund; Arfan J Al-Hani; Henry R Black Journal: Circulation Date: 2003-09-15 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Georita M Frierson; Erica N Howard; Laura E DeFina; Tiffany M Powell-Wiley; Benjamin L Willis Journal: Ethn Dis Date: 2013 Impact factor: 1.847
Authors: Damon L Swift; Amanda E Staiano; Neil M Johannsen; Carl J Lavie; Conrad P Earnest; Peter T Katzmarzyk; Steven N Blair; Robert L Newton; Timothy S Church Journal: Sports Med Date: 2013-12 Impact factor: 11.136
Authors: Katherine J Ombrellaro; Nita Perumal; Johannes Zeiher; Jens Hoebel; Till Ittermann; Ralf Ewert; Marcus Dörr; Thomas Keil; Gert B M Mensink; Jonas D Finger Journal: Sports Med Open Date: 2018-06-07