Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is an Indicator of Arterial Stiffness and Aortic Blood Pressure in Healthy Adolescents

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> We aimed to investigate the influence of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition on arterial stiffness. <b>Methods:</b> Carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and aortic systolic (ASBP) and diastolic (ADBP) blood pressure were compared between upper and lower tertiles of oxygen consumption at the aerobic threshold (VO_2AerT), peak oxygen consumption (VO_2peak), percentage of fat mass (FM%), and body mass index (BMI) in sixty adolescents (30 males and 30 females, 14.9 ± 2.1 years old). A stepwise multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the independent associations between VO_2AerT and VO_2peak and cfPWV, and between BMI and FM% and cfPWV with adjustments for age, sex, ASBP, and ADBP. <b>Results:</b> cfPWV and ADBP were lower in the second and third VO_2AerT tertiles compared to the first tertile (cfPWV, 4.7 ± 0.5 and 4.7 ± 0.5 vs. 5.3 ± 0.8 m/s, <i>p</i> < 0.01; ADBP, 62 ± 7 and 62 ± 7 vs. 70 ± 8 mmHg, <i>p</i> < 0.01). ASBP was lower in the third VO_2AerT tertile compared to the first tertile (94 ± 7 vs. 101 ± 12 mmHg, <i>p</i> = 0.05). ADBP was lower in the second VO_2peak tertile compared to the first tertile (62 ± 7 vs. 68 ± 9 mmHg, <i>p</i> = 0.03). ASBP was lower in the first and second BMI tertiles compared to the third tertile (95 ± 8 and 95 ± 7 vs. 102 ± 11 mmHg, <i>p</i> = 0.02). The eight-variable model significantly contributed to the variance of cfPWV (F(8, 51) = 7.450, <i>p</i> < 0.01), accounting for 47% of the variance. Individually, age (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and ADBP (<i>p</i> < 0.01) significantly predicted cfPWV. <b>Conclusions:</b> Submaximal indicators of CRF such as VO_2AerT should be considered as a part of the risk stratification of cardiovascular disease in healthy adolescents.