The Association between Dietary Antioxidant Quality Score and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Iranian Adults: a Cross-Sectional Study

The association between dietary antioxidant quality score (DAQS) and cardiovascular risk factors such as low cardiovascular fitness (CRF) and elevated blood pressure (BP) has rarely been investigated. To investigate the association between DAQS, CRF, and BP. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 adult subjects living in Tehran, Iran. Dietary intake was evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. The DAQS was calculated using antioxidant-nutrient intake. Socio-economic status, anthropometric measures, and BP were recorded by a trained interviewer, using standard methods. A significant increase was found in maximal oxygen uptake (p value = 0.01) across tertiles of DAQS. After adjusting for confounders, the association remained unchanged (p value = 0.02). Participants in the highest tertile of DAQS had higher systolic BP (SBP) (p value = 0.01) and diastolic BP (DBP) (p value = 0.03), although adjustment for confounding factors attenuated the results (p value = 0.3 for DBP and p value = 0.6 for SBP). Our results revealed that higher DAQS is associated with better CRF in Iranian adults. Further studies are needed to establish the veracity of our results.