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Running and the Development of Disability with Age
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
The risks and benefits of regular vigorous exercise are revisited in the observational report by Fries and colleagues [1]. In their ongoing comparison between the members of a self-selected running club and a Stanford University lipid study group, the authors report that runners have less disability and lower mortality as they age than do staff and faculty members who do not run. However, there is a hitch.
The data presented clearly show that the university control group increased its total burden of vigorous exertion from 77.3 minutes per week in 1984 to 124.1 minutes per week 8 years later (an increase of 61%). By contrast, the total weekly time for gifted athletes in the running club decreased from 301.4 minutes in 1984 to 278.8 minutes in 1992 (a decrease of vigorous exertion of 7.5%). Rather than suggesting that running is good for aging men and women, these data may indicate that increased indulgence in strenuous exercise late in life may be rewarded with increased injury. Until prospective, controlled trials of exercise are done, we may not know whether vigorous exercise incapacitates, heals, or merely entertains [2, 3].
Donald Venes
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
