Previous studies have found an association between decreased physical activity and increased cancer incidence, but little is known about the relationship between increased cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and cancer incidence and mortality.
Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of more than 49,000 men and women treated within the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan who underwent exercise stress testing from 1991-2009. CRF was measured as metabolic equivalents of task (METs) and categorized in levels: <6 METs, 6 to 9 METs, 10 to 11 METs, and ≥12 METs (learn more about METs). The researchers then linked these data with the cancer registry and all‐cause mortality from the National Death Index.
Over a median follow-up of 7.7 years and after adjusting for age, race, sex, body mass index, smoking history, and diabetes, the authors found that those in the highest fitness category (METs ≥12) had a 77% decreased risk of lung cancer and a 61% decreased risk of colorectal cancer.
Patients diagnosed with cancer also benefited. Of those diagnosed with lung and colorectal cancer, those with the highest levels of CRF had a 44% and 89% lower risk of all-cause mortality, respectively, than patients who were less fit.
With 46% of the cohort being female and 29% black, the lead author, Dr. Catherine Handy Marshall, noted in a statement that…
“Our findings are [from] one of the first, largest, and most diverse cohorts to look at the impact of fitness on cancer outcomes”
Marshall, C. H., Al‐Mallah, M. H., Dardari, Z., Brawner, C. A., Lamerato, L. E., Keteyian, S. J., … & Blaha, M. J. (2019). Cardiorespiratory fitness and incident lung and colorectal cancer in men and women: Results from the Henry Ford Exercise Testing (FIT) cohort. Cancer.
Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash.
