title: Physical Fitness in Young Adults Born Preterm.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Young adults born preterm have higher levels of cardiometabolic risk factors than their term-born peers. Muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness have important cardiometabolic and other health benefits. We assessed muscular, cardiorespiratory, and self-rated fitness in preterm-born young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied unimpaired participants of the ESTER (Ennenaikainen syntymä ja aikuisiän terveys [Preterm Birth and Early-Life Programming of Adult Health and Disease]) birth cohort study at age 23.3 (SD: 1.2) years: 139 born early preterm (EPT; <34 weeks), 247 late preterm (LPT; 34-36 weeks), and 352 at term (control group). We measured muscular fitness with the number of modified push-ups performed in 40 seconds and maximal handgrip strength of the dominant hand, cardiovascular fitness with heart rate at the end of a 4-minute step test, and self-rated fitness. Data were analyzed with linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Young adults born EPT (-0.8; 95% confidence interval: -1.5 to -0.1; adjusted for gender, age, and source cohort) and LPT (-0.8; -1.4 to -0.3) performed fewer modified push-ups than controls. Handgrip strength was 23.8 (0.9-46.8) N lower in EPT participants. Cardiorespiratory fitness, measured by submaximal step test, was similar. On a self-rated fitness scale (1-5), the EPT adults reported 0.2 (0.0-0.4) lower scores than controls. After adjustment for early-life confounders, the results remained. They attenuated after further adjustment for mediating factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young adults born EPT and LPT had lower muscular fitness than controls, which may predispose them to cardiometabolic and other chronic diseases. Adults born EPT also perceived themselves as less fit than controls.
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and marjaana.tikanmaki@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Marjaana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tikanmäki
authors.affiliation: LIKES-Research Center for Sport and Health Sciences, Jyväskylä, Finland;
authors.forename: Tuija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tammelin
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and Departments of Pediatrics and Adolescence and.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sipola-Leppänen
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Children's Hospital and.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaseva
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and.
authors.forename: Hanna-Maria
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Matinolli
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;
authors.forename: Satu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miettola
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland;
authors.forename: Johan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Center for Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Medical Research Council Health Protection Agency Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Biocenter Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; and.
authors.forename: Marjo-Riitta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Järvelin
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Children, Adolescents and Families Unit, Department of Welfare, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vääräsmäki
authors.affiliation: Chronic Disease Prevention Unit, Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland; Children's Hospital and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kajantie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult