Wei-hsiu hsu1–3 Chi-lung Chen2

Background: Health-related fitness has been reported to be associated with improved quality of life (QoL) in the elderly. Health-related fitness is comprised of several dimensions that could be enhanced by specific training regimens. It has remained unclear how various dimensions of health-related fitness interact with QoL in postmenopausal women. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the dimensions of health-related fitness and QoL in elderly women. Methods: A cohort of 408 postmenopausal women in a rural area of Taiwan was prospec-tively collected. Dimensions of health-related fitness, consisting of muscular strength, balance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, muscle endurance, and agility, were assessed. QoL was determined using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Differences between age groups (stratified by decades) were calculated using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) an