%0 Journal Article
%T Assessment of Cardiorespiratory Fitness without Exercise in Elderly Men with Chronic Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases
%A Geraldo A. Maranh£¿o Neto
%A Antonio P. de Leon
%A Vitor A. Lira
%A Paulo T. V. Farinatti
%J Journal of Aging Research
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/518045
%X Low cardiorespiratory (CRF) is associated with health problems in elderly people, especially cardiovascular and metabolic disease. However, physical limitations in this population frequently preclude the application of aerobic tests. We developed a model to estimate CRF without aerobic testing in older men with chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Subjects aged from 60 to 91 years were randomly assigned into validation ( £¿£¿ = 6 7 ) and cross-validation ( £¿£¿ = 2 9 ) groups. A hierarchical linear regression model included age, self-reported fitness, and handgrip strength normalized to body weight ( £¿£¿ 2 = 0 . 7 9 ; SEE£¿=£¿1.1 METs). The PRESS (predicted residual sum of squares) statistics revealed minimal shrinkage in relation to the original model and that predicted by the model and actual CRF correlated well in the cross-validation group ( £¿£¿ = 0 . 8 5 ). The area under curve (AUC) values suggested a good accuracy of the model to detect disability in the validation (0.876, 95% CI: 0.793¨C0.959) and cross-validation groups (0.826, 95% CI: 0.677¨C0.975). Our findings suggest that CRF can be reliably estimated without exercise test in unhealthy elderly men. 1. Introduction Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) maintenance is important for functional independence and physical capacity throughout aging [1, 2]. Substantial declines in the ability to tolerate physical exertion generally predict mobility problems and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly in the sedentary elderly [3, 4]. Despite the importance of CRF assessment, very low functional capacity and frailty may hinder the use of exercise tests in this population [5, 6]. In this context, nonexercise prediction models become practical alternatives to estimate CRF [7] and may have important applications both in clinical and epidemiological settings. These models are developed by means of regression-based equations that usually include variables of simple and fast assessment, such as anthropometric measures, demographic characteristics, and daily habits [8]. Recently, Mailey et al. [7] cross-validated an equation developed primarily in middle-aged adults by Jurca et al. [9] and suggested that nonexercise models could be used to estimate the CRF of older adults. The sample studied was mainly composed by healthy old women (~60%). However, the prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes increases dramatically with age [10], and is associated to lower physical capacity, inactivity, and limitations in the ability to exercise [2]. It would be therefore important
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2012/518045/