Cardiorespiratory fitness and type 2 diabetes risk: A prospective cohort study with mediation analysis of biological aging in the UK Biobank.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with reduced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) risk, but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We investigated whether biological aging mediates the association between maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) and incident T2D risk.

Materials and methods

This prospective cohort study included 54 418 UK Biobank participants aged 39-70 years without baseline diabetes. VO₂max was estimated using a validated algorithm incorporating resting heart rate, physical activity, age, sex and body mass index. Biological age (BA) and phenotypic age (PhenoAge) were calculated from clinical biomarkers. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803562 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature