Int J Sports Med 2014; 35(04): 356-360
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1349092
Clinical Sciences
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Associations of Maximal Strength and Muscular Endurance with Cardiovascular Risk Factors

J. P. Vaara
1   The Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy, National Defence University, Helsinki, Finland
5   The Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, United States
,
M. Fogelholm
2   The Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki
,
T. Vasankari
3   The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Finland
,
M. Santtila
4   Finnish Defence Forces, Personnel Division, Helsinki, Finland
,
K. Häkkinen
5   The Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, United States
,
H. Kyröläinen
1   The Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy, National Defence University, Helsinki, Finland
5   The Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, United States
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History



accepted after revision 24 May 2013

Publication Date:
10 September 2013 (online)

Abstract

The aim was to study the associations of maximal strength and muscular endurance with single and clustered cardiovascular risk factors. Muscular endurance, maximal strength, cardiorespiratory fitness and waist circumference were measured in 686 young men (25±5 years). Cardiovascular risk factors (plasma glucose, serum high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure) were determined. The risk factors were transformed to z-scores and the mean of values formed clustered cardiovascular risk factor. Muscular endurance was inversely associated with triglycerides, s-LDL-cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure (β=−0.09 to − 0.23, p<0.05), and positively with s-HDL cholesterol (β=0.17, p<0.001) independent of cardiorespiratory fitness. Muscular endurance was negatively associated with the clustered cardiovascular risk factor independent of cardiorespiratory fitness (β=−0.26, p<0.05), whereas maximal strength was not associated with any of the cardiovascular risk factors or the clustered cardiovascular risk factor independent of cardiorespiratory fitness. Furthermore, cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with triglycerides, s-LDL-cholesterol and the clustered cardiovascular risk factor (β=−0.14 to − 0.24, p<0.005), as well as positively with s-HDL cholesterol (β=0.11, p<0.05) independent of muscular fitness. This cross-sectional study demonstrated that in young men muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness were independently associated with the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, whereas maximal strength was not.

 
  • References

  • 1 Ahotupa M, Suomela JP, Vuorimaa T, Vasankari T. Lipoprotein-specific transport of circulating lipid peroxides. Ann Med 2010; 42: 521-529
  • 2 Andersen LB, Harro M, Sardinha LB, Froberg K, Ekelund U, Brage S, Anderssen SA. Physical activity and clustered cardiovascular risk in children: a cross-sectional study (The European Youth Heart Study). Lancet 2006; 22: 299-304
  • 3 Artero EG, Ruiz JR, Ortega FB, España-Romero V, Vicente-Rodríguez G, Molnar D, Gottrand F, González-Gross M, Breidenassel C, Moreno LA, Gutiérrez A. HELENA Study Group . Muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness are independently associated with metabolic risk in adolescents: the HELENA study. Pediatr Diabetes 2011; 12: 704-712
  • 4 Artero EG, Lee DC, Lavie CJ, España-Romero V, Sui X, Church TS, Blair SN. Effects of muscular strength on cardiovascular risk factors and prognosis. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev 2012; 32: 351-358
  • 5 Atlantis E, Martin SA, Haren MT, Taylor AW, Wittert GA. Inverse associations between muscle mass, strength, and the metabolic syndrome. Metabolism 2009; 58: 1013-1022
  • 6 Bao W, Srinivasan SR, Wattigney WA, Berenson GS. Persistence of multiple cardiovascular risk clustering related to syndrome X from childhood to young adulthood. The Bogalusa Heart Study. Arch Intern Med 1994; 154: 1842-1847
  • 7 Barengo NC, Kastarinen M, Lakka T, Nissinen A, Tuomilehto J. Different forms of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors among 24–64-year-old men and women in Finland. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2006; 13: 51-59
  • 8 Berenson GS, Srinivasan SR, Bao W, Newman 3rd WP, Tracy RE, Wattigney WA. Association between multiple cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis in children and young adults. The Bogalusa Heart Study. N Engl J Med 1998; 338: 1650-1656
  • 9 Christou DD, Gentile CL, DeSouza CA, Seals DR, Gates PE. Fatness is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk factor profile than aerobic fitness in healthy men. Circulation 2005; 111: 1904-1914
  • 10 Conroy RM, Pyörälä K, Fitzgerald AP, Sans S, Menotti A, De Backer G, De Bacquer D, Ducimetière P, Jousilahti P, Keil U, Njølstad I, Oganov RG, Thomsen T, Tunstall-Pedoe H, Tverdal A, Wedel H, Whincup P, Wilhelmsen L, Graham IM. Estimation of ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease in Europe: the SCORE project. Eur Heart J 2003; 24: 987-1003
  • 11 Delvaux K, Philippaerts R, Lysens R, Vanhees L, Thomis M, Claessens AL, Vanreusel B, Eynde BV, Beunen G, Lefevre J. Evaluation of the influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on diverse health risk factors, independent of waist circumference, in 40-year-old Flemish males. Obes Res 2000; 8: 553-558
  • 12 Ekblom-Bak E, Hellenius ML, Ekblom O, Engström LM, Ekblom B. Fitness and abdominal obesity are independently associated with cardiovascular risk. J Intern Med 2009; 266: 547-557
  • 13 García-Artero E, Ortega FB, Ruiz JR, Mesa JL, Delgado M, González-Gross M, García-Fuentes M, Vicente-Rodríguez G, Gutiérrez A, Castillo MJ. Lipid and metabolic profiles in adolescents are affected more by physical fitness than physical activity AVENA study. Rev Esp Cardiol 2007; 60: 581-588
  • 14 Gill JM, Malkova D. Physical activity, fitness and cardiovascular disease risk in adults: interactions with insulin resistance and obesity. Clin Sci 2006; 110: 409-425
  • 15 Harriss DJ, Atkinson G. Update – ethical standards in sport and exercise science research. Int J Sports Med 2011; 32: 819-821
  • 16 Hu G, Pekkarinen H, Hänninen O, Yu Z, Guo Z, Tian H. Commuting, leisure-time physical activity, and cardiovascular risk factors in China. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002; 34: 234-238
  • 17 Häkkinen K, Häkkinen A. Neuromuscular adaptations during intensive strength training in middleaged and elderly males and females. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol 1995; 35: 137-147
  • 18 Jago R, Drews KL, McMurray RG, Thompson D, Volpe SL, Moe EL, Jakicic JM, Pham TH, Bruecker S, Blackshear TB, Yin Z. Fatness, fitness, and cardiometabolic risk factors among sixth-grade youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010; 42: 1502-1510
  • 19 Jurca R, Lamonte MJ, Church TS, Earnest CP, Fitzgerald SJ, Barlow CE, Jordan AN, Kampert JB, Blair SN. Associations of muscle strength and fitness with metabolic syndrome in men. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2004; 36: 1301-1307
  • 20 Jurca R, Lamonte MJ, Church TS, Earnest CP, Fitzgerald SJ, Barlow CE, Jordan AN, Kampert JB. Association of muscular strength with incidence of metabolic syndrome in men. Med Sci Sport Exerc 2005; 37: 1849-1855
  • 21 Kim J, Lee N, Jung SH, Kim EJ, Cho HC. Independent and joint associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle fitness with metabolic syndrome in Korean men. Metab Syndr Relat Disord 2011; 9: 273-279
  • 22 Kohl 3rd HW, Gordon NF, Scott CB, Vaandrager H, Blair SN. Musculoskeletal strength and serum lipid levels in men and women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1992; 24: 1080-1087
  • 23 Ondrak KS, McMurray RG, Bangdiwala SI, Harrell JS. Influence of aerobic power and percent body fat on cardiovascular disease risk in youth. J Adolesc Health 2007; 41: 146-152
  • 24 Pahkala K, Heinonen OJ, Lagström H, Hakala P, Hakanen M, Hernelahti M, Ruottinen S, Sillanmäki L, Rönnemaa T, Viikari J, Raitakari OT, Simell O. Clustered metabolic risk and leisure-time physical activity in adolescents: effect of dose?. Br J Sports Med 2012; 46: 131-137
  • 25 Racette SB, Evans EM, Weiss EP, Hagberg JM, Holloszy JO. Abdominal adiposity is a stronger predictor of insulin resistance than fitness among 50–95 year olds. Diabetes Care 2006; 29: 673-678
  • 26 Raitakari OT, Porkka KV, Räsänen L, Rönnemaa T, Viikari JS. Clustering and six year cluster-tracking of serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure in children and young adults. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. J Clin Epidemiol 1994; 47: 1085-1093
  • 27 Sacheck JM, Kuder JF, Economos CD. Physical fitness, adiposity, and metabolic risk factors in young college students. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010; 42: 1039-1044
  • 28 Santtila MA, Häkkinen K, Pihlainen K, Kyröläinen H. Comparison between direct and predicted maximal oxygen uptake measurement during cycling. Milit Med 2013; 178: 234-238
  • 29 Smith Jr SC. Multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Am J Med 2007; 120: S3-S11
  • 30 Steene-Johannessen J, Anderssen SA, Kolle E, Andersen LB. Low muscle fitness is associated with metabolic risk in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41: 1361-1367
  • 31 Vaara JP, Kyröläinen H, Niemi J, Ohrankämmen O, Häkkinen A, Kocay S, Häkkinen K. Associations of maximal strength and muscular endurance test scores with cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition. J Strength Cond Res 2012; 26: 2078-2086
  • 32 Wijndaele K, Duvigneaud N, Matton L, Duquet W, Thomis M, Beunen G, Lefevre J, Philippaerts RM. Muscular strength, aerobic fitness, and metabolic syndrome risk in Flemish adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39: 233-240