Low fitness linked to older age estimates from heart tests
Adults with low fitness had 3.69 times the odds of an unusually old biological age estimate compared with those with normal fitness.
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- It measures an outcome that worsens with age.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Adults aged 18 and older who underwent clinical exercise testing were analyzed in a retrospective observational study of 20,805 people. Their average age was 56.6; 59% were male and 87% were White. Fitness reflected peak oxygen consumption during exercise relative to age- and sex-based expectations. An artificial intelligence system estimated biological age from electrocardiograms, recordings of the heart’s electrical activity, taken within 15 days of testing.
Low fitness was linked to higher odds of an unusually large gap between estimated and actual age, with the estimate older, compared with normal fitness. This category meant a gap at least two standard deviations—a measure of statistical spread—above the average. The association remained after adjustment for illnesses that limited exercise and cardiovascular risk factors. Excellent fitness was linked to younger age estimates relative to actual age.
Why it matters
Fitness can change, and the authors suggest it may be a target for efforts to slow biological aging and improve disease prevention.
Caveats
The age measure was a computer estimate, not a measurement of cellular aging; underlying illness could still contribute to both low fitness and older estimates. Participants were adults referred for clinical exercise testing, and people with prior heart or lung transplants were excluded.
The paper
Mayo Clinic; Mayo Clinic Coll Medicine
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 17795
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