Physical activity and physical fitness in prediction of all-cause mortality and age at death in European extinct cohorts of middle-aged men followed for 60 years

Aug 28, 2026

Physical activity (Phyac) and physical fitness (Fitscore) were evaluated for their ability to predict very long-term all-cause mortality and age at death in European cohorts of 5482 middle-aged men followed for 60 years. Fitscore was derived from principal-components factor scores using arm circumference, heart rate, and vital capacity, while Phyac was estimated from work type. Predictions were tested with Cox models for mortality and multiple linear regression for age at death, adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Aims

Methods and results

Prognostic models and predictors

Conclusion

Lay summary

Physical activity and Physical fitness in Prediction of all-cause Mortality and Age at Death in European Extinct Cohorts of middleaged men followed for 60 Years European Journal of Preventive Cardiology Menotti, Alessandro; Puddu, Paolo Emilio; Geleijnse, Johanna M.; Kafatos, Anthony; Tolonen, Hanna [https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae064](https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae064) This publication is made publicly available in the institutional repository of Wageningen University and Research, under the terms of article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, also known as the Amendment Taverne. Article 25fa states that the author of a short scientific work funded either wholly or partially by Dutch public funds is entitled to make that work publicly available for no consideration following a reasonable period of time after the work was first published, provided that clear reference is made to the source of the first publication of the work. This publication is distributed using the principles as determined in the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) 'Article 25fa implementation' project. According to these principles research outputs of researchers employed by Dutch Universities that comply with the legal requirements of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act are distributed online and free of cost or other barriers in institutional repositories. Research outputs are distributed six months after their first online publication in the original published version and with proper attribution to the source of the original publication. You are permitted to download and use the publication for personal purposes. All rights remain with the author(s) and / or copyright owner(s) of this work. Any use of the publication or parts of it other than authorised under article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright act is prohibited. Wageningen University & Research and the author(s) of this publication shall not be held responsible or liable for any damages resulting from your (re)use of this publication. For questions regarding the public availability of this publication please contact [openaccess.library@wur.nl](openaccess.library@wur.nl) European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (2024) 00, 1–8 [https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae064](https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae064) FULL RESEARCH PAPER Exercise physiology & testing | Physical activity and physical fitness in prediction of all-cause mortality and age at death in European extinct cohorts of middle-aged men followed for 60 years
Alessandro Menotti1, Paolo Emilio Puddu 1,2*, Johanna M. Geleijnse3, Anthony Kafatos4, and Hanna Tolonen 5
1Association for Cardiac Research, Via Voghera 31, 00182 Rome, Italy; 2EA 4650, Signalisation, électrophysiologie et imagerie des lésions d’ischémie reperfusion myocardique, Universit de Normandie, Esplanade de la Paix, 14000 Caen, France; 3Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; 4Department of Social Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Nutrition Clinic, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece; and 5Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
Received 28 October 2023; revised 25 January 2024; accepted 13 February 2024; online publish-ahead-of-print 15 February 2024 | | | --- | --- | | Aims | A study of the power of physical activity (Phyac) and physical fitness (Fitscore) in predicting very long-term all-cause mortality and age at death (AD) is missing. | | . .
Methods and results | A total of 5482 middle-aged men were examined with measurement of several risk factors and followed for 60 years until the virtual extinction of cohorts. Phyac in three classes was estimated from their type of work while Fitscore was derived from the linear combinations of levels of arm circumference, heart rate, and vital capacity computed as a factor score by principal components analysis. The predictive power of these charact

FAQs

How were physical activity (Phyac) and physical fitness (Fitscore) defined in this study?

Phyac was estimated in three classes from the type of work performed. Fitscore was calculated as a principal-components factor score derived from arm circumference, heart rate, and vital capacity.

What study methods were used to predict all-cause mortality and age at death?

All-cause mortality was modeled using Cox regression, while age at death was analyzed using multiple linear regression. Both approaches adjusted for five traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Which predictor performed better: Phyac or Fitscore?

Fitscore showed systematically better predictive power than Phyac. Higher Phyac and Fitscore were associated with lower all-cause mortality and higher age at death, with Fitscore providing stronger associations.

Aug 28, 2026

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