Association between coronary heart disease risk factors and physical fitness in healthy adult women.

We examined associations between physical fitness and risk factors for coronary heart disease in healthy women ages 18-65 years. Physical fitness was objectively determined by the duration of a maximal treadmill exercise test. Six physical fitness categories (very poor to superior), specific within 10-year age increments, were established. Mean risk factor levels varied across categories, but so did potential confounders such as age and weight. Multiple linear regression modeling was used to control for the effects of age, weight and year of exam on coronary risk factors. After adjustment, physical fitness was independently associated with triglycerides (p less than 0.001), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p less than or equal to 0.001), total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (p less than or equal to 0.001), blood pressure (p less than or equal to 0.001) and cigarette smoking (p less than or equal to 0.001).