#clippings #Health/Exercise

Abstract

Importance: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Robust evidence indicates an association of increased physical fitness with a lower risk of CVD events and improved longevity; however, few have studied simple, low-cost measures of functional status.

Objective: To evaluate the association between push-up capacity and subsequent CVD event incidence in a cohort of active adult men.

Design, setting, and participants: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study conducted between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010, in 1 outpatient clinics in Indiana of male firefighters aged 18 years or older. Baseline and periodic physical examinations, including tests of push-up capacity and exercise tolerance, were performed between February 2, 2000, and November 12, 2007. Participants were stratified into 5 groups based on number of push-ups completed and were followed up for 10 years. Final statistical analyses were completed on August 11, 2018.

Main outcomes and measures: Cardiovascular disease-related outcomes through 2010 included incident diagnoses of coronary artery disease and other major CVD events. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were computed, and logistic regression models were used to model the time to each outcome from baseline, adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). Kaplan-Meier estimates for cumulative risk were computed for the push-up categories.

Results: A total of 1562 participants underwent baseline examination, and 1104 with available push-up data were included in the final analyses. Mean (SD) age of the cohort at baseline was 39.6 (9.2) years, and mean (SD) BMI was 28.7 (4.3). During the 10-year follow up, 37 CVD-related outcomes (8601 person-years) were reported in participants with available push-up data. Significant negative associations were found between increasing push-up capacity and CVD events. Participants able to complete more than 40 push-ups were associated with a significantly lower risk of incident CVD event risk compared with those completing fewer than 10 push-ups (IRR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.36).

Conclusions and relevance: The findings suggest that higher baseline push-up capacity is associated with a lower incidence of CVD events. Although larger studies in more diverse cohorts are needed, push-up capacity may be a simple, no-cost measure to estimate functional status.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Zollinger reported being a research consultant with the National Institute of Public Safety Health. Dr Kales reported serving as an expert witness in firefighter cases; and receiving personal fees from Bichler, Kelley, Oliver & Longo, PLLC; McCarthy, Callas & Feeney PC; Macadam, Jury, PA; Sena Polk & Stacy, LLP; and Lichten & Liss-Riordan, PC outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

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Figure.. Kaplan-Meier Curves for the Cumulative Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Outcome in 5 Push-up Categories Push-up categories are by numbers of push-ups performed during baseline examination.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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For a 55‑year‑old man, “average” capacity is usually quoted around 10–20 consecutive strict pushups in a single set, depending on the standard used.[1][2][3][4][5]

Published benchmarks around age 55

Different groups define “average” slightly differently, but they cluster tightly:

So if you can hit low‑ to mid‑teens in a single clean set, you’re roughly in the average range for 55; 20–30+ puts you clearly above average for your age.[5][3][4][1]

Sources
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