{"doi":"10.1093/milmed/usaa005","title":"Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated With Better Cardiometabolic Health and Lower PTSD Severity in Post-9/11 Veterans","abstract":"INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and physical inactivity. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), which is modifiable by physical activity, is a strong independent predictor of cardiometabolic health. However, the relationship between CRF and cardiometabolic health in veterans with PTSD is unknown. Thus, this study aimed to explore the cross-sectional relationships among CRF, indices of cardiometabolic health (ie, HbA1c, blood lipids, blood pressure, waist-hip ratio, and body mass index), and PTSD severity in veterans with PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board. All participants were informed of the study risks and provided consent prior to participation. Participants (n = 13) completed a cardiopulmonary exercise test, a fasting blood draw, and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale. Correlations between CRF and cardiometabolic health were examined with Spearman's rank correlations, and differences in PTSD symptom severity were explored as a function of CRF (ie, low-to-moderate vs. high CRF), using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Peak oxygen uptake ($\\dot{\\mathrm{V}}$O2peak) was correlated with high-density lipoproteins rho = 0.60, P = 0.04 and diastolic blood pressure rho = -0.56, P = 0.05. Ventilatory threshold was correlated with HbA1c rho = -0.61, P = 0.03 and diastolic blood pressure rho = -0.56, P = 0.05. Higher CRF was associated with lower total PTSD severity standardized β = -0.84, P = 0.01, adjusted R2 = 0.47, total Cluster C symptoms (avoidance/numbing) β = -0.71, P = 0.02, adjusted R2 = 0.49, and total Cluster D symptoms (hyperarousal) β = -0.89, P = 0.01, adjusted R2 = 0.41, while adjusting for age and smoking status. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest that CRF and by proxy physical activity may be important factors in understanding the increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease associated with PTSD.","journal":"Military Medicine","year":2020,"id":83943,"datarank":0.3596842909197557,"base_score":2.3978952727983707,"endowment":2.3978952727983707,"self_citation_contribution":0.3596842909197557,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.3596842909197557,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":10,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9652,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2020-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":431615,"name":"Scott M. Hayes","orcid":"0000-0002-1185-5149","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":270545,"name":"Ryan J. Andrews","orcid":"0000-0003-0275-0019","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":392496,"name":"Jennifer R. Fonda","orcid":"0000-0001-9482-2918","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":431616,"name":"Brigitta M. Beck","orcid":"0000-0002-7249-3137","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":432925,"name":"Lilly B Hanlon","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":431617,"name":"Catherine B. Fortier","orcid":"0000-0002-8953-9904","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":278646,"name":"William Milberg","orcid":"0000-0002-6078-7066","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":278645,"name":"Regina E. McGlinchey","orcid":"0000-0003-4809-1194","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":431614,"name":"James W. Whitworth","orcid":"0000-0001-7084-7774","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":27,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-18T21:54:50.827092Z","pmid":"32060558","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}