This meta-analysis quantified the magnitude of association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and coronary heart disease (CHD) events, cardiovascular disease (CVD) events or all-cause mortality in men and women. A better CRF was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD. Furthermore, a 1-MET increase in the level of maximal aerobic capacity was associated with a 13% and 15% risk reduction in all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD events. Subjects with a maximal aerobic capacity of 7.9 METS or higher had substantially lower rates of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD events than those with a maximal aerobic capacity lower than 7.9 METS. Thus, CRF is useful for the prediction of all-cause mortality and CHD/CVD events in a primary care setting.
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