ABSTRACT
The conversion of fibrinogen (FG) to fibrin is part of a cascade of events that leads to blood thrombus formation[1]. Elevated FG levels have been linked to increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke[2, 3, 4]. Although high levels of physical activity and aerobic fitness have been associated with decreased risk for CAD[5], the influence of these parameters on FG levels has not been established clearly[3, 6, 7, 8]. In children and adolescents CAD risk factors, including elevated FG levels[9, 10], are evident as early as the prepubertal years[11, 12]. To what extent FG level is related to physical activity and aerobic fitness in children is unknown. As exercise, activity, and aerobic fitness appear to have a positive influence on risk for CAD in adults[5], it would seem worth studying these relationships in children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that physical activity and aerobic fitness ( https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> V ˙ O 2 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315025001/ca0a1b50-16e7-4532-9e85-fe2cd38f2327/content/inline-eqn97_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> max) are inversely related to FG levels in prepubertal and adolescent children.
