What does this research mean for the field?

Maximal handgrip strength and muscle health index can serve as initial screening indicators of cardiovascular fitness in physically active students, though Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing remains necessary for accurate medical assessment. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

March 3, 2026Open Access

Are there reliable primary indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness in physically active students?

Key Result

Maximal handgrip strength and muscle health index can serve as initial indicators of cardiovascular fitness for screening in active students, but CPET is needed for accuracy.

Key Points

Maximal handgrip strength and muscle high-intensity interval training indicate cardiovascular fitness levels, allowing better screening options.
The combination of these two indicators may improve risk group identification, especially in physically active students.
While promising, the findings underscore the need for comprehensive cardiopulmonary exercise testing for accurate fitness assessment.
Resource limitations highlight the importance of having reliable primary indicators in various screening environments.

Structured PICO

Do maximal HGS and MHI reliably indicate cardiorespiratory fitness in physically active students?

Population

physically active students

Intervention

Maximal HGS and MHI

Comparator

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing

Outcome

cardiorespiratory fitnesssurrogate

Maximal HGS and MHI may serve as initial screening tools for cardiovascular fitness in resource-limited settings, but cannot replace cardiopulmonary exercise testing for medical applications.

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%

Abstract

Maximal HGS and MHI showed potential as first-level indicators of cardiovascular fitness and in combination they may support screening in settings with limited resources and can be used for risk group identification. However, for medical applications the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing remains indispensable for an accurate and comprehensive assessment of individual cardiovascular fitness.