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Cardiorespiratory fitness and health‐related quality of life in adolescents: A longitudinal analysis from the LabMed Physical Activity Study
Author(s) -
Evaristo Olga S.,
Moreira Carla,
Lopes Luís,
Abreu Sandra,
AgostinisSobrinho César,
OliveiraSantos José,
Oliveira André,
Mota Jorge,
Santos Rute
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23304
Subject(s) - cardiorespiratory fitness , medicine , confounding , socioeconomic status , physical fitness , longitudinal study , quality of life (healthcare) , analysis of covariance , demography , physical therapy , gerontology , environmental health , population , nursing , pathology , sociology , machine learning , computer science
Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of adolescents, and to determine whether changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with HRQoL over a 2‐year follow‐up. Methods This is a longitudinal analysis with 571 Portuguese adolescents (274 boys and 297 girls) aged 12‐18 years. HRQoL was measured with the Kidscreen‐10 questionnaire; the 20 m shuttle‐run was used to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness; socioeconomic status was assessed with the Family Affluence Scale; and pubertal stage was assessed with Tanner stages. Linear regression and analysis of covariance ( ancova s) were used to examine the associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and HRQoL. Results HRQoL decreased over a 2‐year period both in boys and girls ( P < .05). Moreover, girls at baseline and at follow‐up reported significantly lower HRQoL values than boys (between subjects P < .001). After adjustments for potential confounders, regression analyses showed significant cross‐sectional associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and HRQoL both at baseline ( B = 0.095; P = .023) and at follow‐up (B = 0.090; P = .012). ancova showed that adolescents whose cardiorespiratory fitness decreased over time exhibited lower scores of HRQoL at follow‐up, compared to those with persistent high cardiorespiratory fitness; this held after adjustments for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and pubertal stage. Conclusions Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness during adolescence were associated with HRQoL over a 2‐year period. This study suggests that improving cardiorespiratory fitness could be an important strategy in improving the HRQoL of adolescents.