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Background: Most of the existing literature has linked a baseline cardiorespiratory fitness or change between baseline and one follow-up measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness to hypertension. The purpose of the study is to assess the association between longitudinal patterns of cardiorespiratory fitness changes with time and incident hypertension in adult men and women.Methods: Participants were aged 20 to 82 years, were free of hypertension during the first 3 examinations, and received at least 4 preventive medical examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas, from 1971 to 2006. They were classified into 1 of 5 groups based on all of the measured cardiorespiratory fitness values (in metabolic equivalents) during maximal treadmill tests. Logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.Results: Among 4932 participants (13% women), 1954 developed hypertension. After controlling for baseline potential confounders, follow-up duration, and number of follow-up visits, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for hypertension were 1.00 for the decreasing group (referent), 0.64 (0.52-0.80) for the increasing group, 0.89 (0.70-1.12) for the bell-shape group, 0.78 (0.62-0.98) for the U-shape group, and 0.83 (0.69-1.00) for the inconsistent group. The general pattern of the association was consistent regardless of participants' baseline cardiorespiratory fitness or body mass index levels.Conclusions: An increasing pattern of cardiorespiratory fitness provides the lowest risk of hypertension in this middle-aged relatively healthy population. Identifying specific pattern(s) of cardiorespiratory fitness change may be important for determining associations with comorbidity, such as hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Many states in the southern region of the United States are recognized for higher rates of obesity, physical inactivity, and chronic disease. These states are therefore recognized for their disproportionate public health burden. The purpose of this study was to investigate state-level distributions of cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index (BMI), and injuries among US Army recruits in order to determine whether or not certain states may also pose disproportionate threats to military readiness and national security., Methods: Sex-specific state-level values for injuries and fitness among 165 584 Army recruits were determined. Next, the relationship between median cardiorespiratory fitness and injury incidence at the state level was examined using Spearman correlations. Finally, multivariable Poisson regression models stratified by sex examined state-level associations between fitness and injury incidence, while controlling for BMI, and other covariates., Main Outcome Measures: Cardiorespiratory fitness and training-related injury incidence., Results: A cluster of 10 states from the south and southeastern regions (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) produced male or female recruits who were significantly less fit and/or more likely to become injured than recruits from other US states. Compared with the "most fit states," the incidence of injuries increased by 22% (95% CI, 17-28; P < .001) and 28% (95% CI, 19-36; P < .001) in male and female recruits from the "least fit states," respectively., Conclusions: The impact of policies, systems, and environments on physical activity behavior, and subsequently fitness and health, has been clearly established. Advocacy efforts aimed at active living policies, systems, and environmental changes to improve population health often fail. However, advocating for active living policies to improve national security may prove more promising, particularly with legislators. Results from this study demonstrate how certain states, previously identified for their disproportionate public health burden, are also disproportionately burdensome for military readiness and national security.