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Association Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Healthcare Costs

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Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Cardiometabolic Diseases

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Abstract

Numerous recent studies have documented the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in the risk paradigm among subjects both with and without chronic disease. In fact, in many recent studies, CRF has been shown to be a more powerful risk marker than the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These observations have been an impetus to include fitness as one of the primary “vital signs” along with the traditional risk markers that include hypertension, lipid abnormalities, smoking, obesity, and diabetes. These studies have also led to increasing efforts to promote physical activity through employer-based worksite wellness programs, which have been consistently shown to have a positive economic impact. However, less is known regarding the association between objective measures of CRF and healthcare costs. In recent years, a limited number of studies have provided insight into this issue. Although quantifying healthcare costs is challenging, these studies are consistent in the demonstration that higher CRF is associated with lower healthcare costs. A small increment in CRF appears to have a major impact on costs; each 1-MET higher CRF level is associated with 5–7% reductions in healthcare costs. These studies are also consistent when adjusted for potentially confounding factors, are not altered appreciably by including or excluding patients with cardiovascular disease, and appear to be more pronounced among overweight and obese subjects, and CRF appears to be a powerful predictor of healthcare costs. Thus, efforts to improve CRF not only have a favorable impact on health outcomes, but they also result in lower healthcare costs. The purpose of this chapter is to review the available literature addressing the association between CRF and healthcare costs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, VA Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Jonathan Myers

  2. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Cardiology, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

  3. Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

  4. Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

  5. George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

  6. University of South Carolina, Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

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  1. Jonathan Myers
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  2. Peter Kokkinos
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Correspondence to Peter Kokkinos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Rutgers University Department of Kinesiology and Health, University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter Kokkinos

  2. Clinical Research Institute of Northern Virginia, Burke, VA, USA

    Puneet Narayan

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Myers, J., Kokkinos, P. (2019). Association Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Healthcare Costs. In: Kokkinos, P., Narayan, P. (eds) Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Cardiometabolic Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04816-7_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04816-7_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04815-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04816-7

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