Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41162814›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

Revisiting the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and biological aging: insights from DunedinPACE analysis.

Takuji Kawamura, Nobuhiro Nakamura, Hiroki Tabata, Ryoko Kawakami, Chiyoko Usui, Tomoko Ito, Keishi Soga, Yasuyuki Taki, Zsolt Radak, Suguru Torii and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Takuji KawamuraSmart Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan. takuji.kawamura.b8@tohoku.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2110-8718
Nobuhiro NakamuraFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Hiroki TabataWaseda Institute for Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Ryoko KawakamiWaseda Institute for Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Chiyoko UsuiCenter for Liberal Education and Learning, Sophia University, Tokyo, 102-8544, Japan.
Tomoko ItoWaseda Institute for Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Keishi SogaSmart Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan.
Yasuyuki TakiSmart Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-Machi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8575, Japan.
Zsolt RadakFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Suguru ToriiFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Katsuhiko SuzukiFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Kaori IshiiFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Shizuo SakamotoFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Motohiko MiyachiFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Koichiro OkaFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Mitsuru HiguchiFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Isao MuraokaFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
Kumpei TanisawaFaculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 24K02832Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 25K20961
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

DunedinPACE quantifies the pace of biological aging. No study has examined its association with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Additionally, the physiologically relevant CRF thresholds associated with slow aging remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between CRF and the pace of epigenetic aging, as measured by DunedinPACE, and to identify a CRF threshold indicative of slower biological aging. Here, we analyzed data of 144 older men (aged 65-72 years) enrolled in the WASEDA'S Health Study to examine the association of CRF (VO₂/kg at peak and ventilatory threshold (VT)), physical fitness, anthropometric parameters, and nutritional intake with epigenetic aging. Epigenetic aging was assessed using DunedinPACE derived from blood DNA methylation profiles. We performed Pearson's and partial correlation analyses adjusted for age, smoking status, and drinking status, followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses with bootstrapped optimal cutoff determination. In the unadjusted analyses, VO₂/kg at peak (r =  - 0.17, p = 0.041) and VT (r =  - 0.17, p = 0.046) were inversely associated with DunedinPACE, and VO₂/kg at peak showed a significant association even in the adjusted models (r =  - 0.16, p = 0.046). The ROC curve analysis revealed a potential threshold of VO₂/kg at peak (26.2 mL/kg/min) for differentiating individuals with slower biological aging, supported by bootstrap distributions of optimal cutoff points and Youden's index. This study suggests that higher CRF is associated with a slower pace of epigenetic aging, as measured using DunedinPACE. The identified VO₂peak threshold may provide a biomarker-based fitness target to support healthy aging in older adults.

Indexed as

AgingCardiorespiratory FitnessAgedDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticHumansMaleOxygen ConsumptionROC CurveBiological agingCardiorespiratory fitnessDunedinPACEEpigenetic agingEpigenetic clockReceiver operating characteristic curve analysis

Identifiers

PMID41162814
PMCPMC13574743

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.