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ObjectiveTo investigate the possible connection between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle strength in early adulthood and severity of COVID-19 later in life.DesignProspective registry-based cohort study.Participants1 559 187 Swedish men, undergoing military conscription between 1968 and 2005 at a mean age of 18.3 (SD 0.73) years.Main outcome measuresHospitalisation, intensive care or death due to COVID-19 from March to September 2020, in relation to CRF and muscle strength.ResultsHigh CRF in late adolescence and early adulthood had a protective association with severe COVID-19 later in life with OR (95% CI) 0.76 (0.67 to 0.85) for hospitalisation (n=2 006), 0.61 (0.48 to 0.78) for intensive care (n=445) and 0.56 (0.37 to 0.85) for mortality (n=149), compared with the lowest category of CRF. The association remains unchanged when controlled for body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, chronic diseases and parental education level at baseline, and incident cardiovascular disease before 2020. Moreover, lower muscle strength in late adolescence showed a linear association with a higher risk of all three outcomes when controlled for BMI and height.ConclusionsPhysical fitness at a young age is associated with severity of COVID-19 many years later. This underscores the necessity to increase the general physical fitness of the population to offer protection against future viral pandemics.

Objective Large-scale studies examining future trajectories of marginalisation and health in adolescents with mental illness are scarce. The aim of this study was to examine if non-psychotic psychiatric disorders (NPDs) were associated with future indicators of marginalisation and mortality. We also aimed to determine whether these associations might be mediated by education level and attenuated by high cognitive ability. Design This is a prospective cohort study with baseline data from the Swedish Conscription register. Setting The study was carried out in Sweden from 1969 to 2005. Participants All of the participants were 18-year-old men at mandatory conscription in Sweden between 1969 and 2005 (n=1 609 690). Measures NPDs were clinically diagnosed at conscription. Cognitive ability was measured by a standardised IQ test at conscription. National register data covered information on welfare support, long-term unemployment, disability pension (DP) and mortality over a period of 1–36 years. Results NPD at the age of 18 years was a predictor of future welfare support, OR 3.73 (95% CI 3.65 to 3.80); long-term unemployment, OR 1.97 (95% CI 1.94 to 2.01); DP, HR 2.95 (95% CI 2.89 to 3.02); and mortality, HR 2.45 (2.33–2.52). The adjusted models suggested that these associations were not confounded by fathers’ educational level, cognitive ability had only a minor attenuating effect on most associations and the mediating effect of own educational level was small. Conclusions The present study underlines a higher prevalence of future adversities in young men experiencing NPDs at the age of 18 years. It also indicates that higher cognitive ability may work as a potential resilience factor against future marginalisation and mortality.