None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
As loss of functional capacity due to ageing negatively influences older individuals'' quality of life this study aimed to examine whether blackcurrant supplementation and habitual activity following a short-term and long-term intervention would benefit older individuals' functional capacity. We hypothesized that blackcurrant supplementation and habitual exercise would improve aged individuals' health.
Interventions
Thirty healthy older women without documented chronic disease volunteered to participate
and were randomly assigned by simple random allocation (drawing lots) to a Polyphenol group, namely the groups that were supplied with blackcurrant extract (Polyphenol group; 15 women) or to a Placebo group that was provided with a placebo capsule (Placebo group;15).
The participants were provided with either capsulated blackcurrant extract, which contained
400mg of blackcurrant extract (Polyphenol group) tw
Thirty healthy older women without documented chronic disease volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned by simple random allocation (drawing lots) to a Polyphenol group, namely the groups that were supplied with blackcurrant extract (Polyphenol group; 15 women) or to a Placebo group that was provided with a placebo capsule (Placebo group;15). The participants were provided with either capsulated blackcurrant extract, which contained 400mg of blackcurrant extract (Polyphenol group) twice daily (7 days for the short-term phase and three months for the long-term phase with a washout period of 7 days between the two phases). Therefore, each participant was administered 400 mg (two capsules) of blackcurrant extract daily with oral administration. Capsules were administered in the form of dark-purple gelatin capsules (Jarrow Formulas, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), identical in appearance (i.e. size and shape). Participants were requested to return drug capsules to monitor adherence to the intervention. The study participants were asked to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. Specifically, they were provided with a structured exercise regime, which was designed specifically for this study, with a description of graded physical activity tasks and instructions on how to perform the exercises that could help. Specifically, they were instructed to engage in at least 30-minute exercise sessions such as walking or swimming per day for the total duration of the study. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), a self-reported questionnaire for assessing physical activity levels and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), examined the habitual levels of physical activity. The study design consisted of two phases, the short-term phase and the long-term phase. Before entering the study, all participants underwent an evaluation of functional capacity, cognitive function, and quality of life. After completing the short-term phase, namely seven days, and the end of the long-term phase, namely three months, all the participants were examined at the same parameters. The two phases were separated by a one-week washout period. The duration of the washout period was selected based on the results of other studies. The acute phase lasted seven days (1 week). The total duration of the study was 7 months (from 1.5.2019 until 29.12.2019)
Sponsors
Eleftherios Dimitros
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to 83 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
The participants had to be in a healthy, stable condition for at least three months before entering the study. The participants were also instructed to remain on a stable diet and habitual physical activity levels during the study. None of the patients had participated in any form of regular exercise during the past year. They were also asked to refrain from any other form of recreational activity during the study period.
Exclusion criteria
The following exclusion criteria from the study were employed: known cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, uncontrolled hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and severe neurological or orthopedic problems that would hinder the patient''s participation in the study.
Outcome results
None listed