Aging
Conditions
Brief summary
Study objectives: 1. To compare cardiovascular function in older compared to young healthy adults. 2. To compare the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic interval training vs. continuous moderate exercise on cardiovascular function in healthy older adults. Hypotheses: 1. Compared to young adults, older adults will have lower cardiovascular function. 2. Compared to continuous moderate intensity exercise training, interval training will be more effective in improving cardiovascular function in older adults.
Detailed description
Cardiovascular function will be measured at baseline in older healthy adults and young healthy controls. Older adults will be randomized to the aerobic interval training group, continuous moderate exercise group or non-exercise control group. At the end of the 8-week exercise intervention, baseline measures will be repeated in the older adults.
Interventions
Supervised aerobic interval training will be performed on bicycles 4 times per week for 8 weeks. Each training session will last 40 minutes and will consist of 10-minute warm up at 70% of maximal heart rate (HRmax), four 4-minute intervals at 90% of HRmax with 3-min active recovery at 70% of HRmax and 5-minute cool down at 70% of HRmax.
Supervised exercise training will be performed on bicycles 4 times per week for 8 weeks. Each training session will last 47 minutes and will consist of continuous moderate intensity cycling at 70% of HRmax.
Sponsors
University of Florida
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 79 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
for older adults: * Healthy men and women 55 to 79 years of age * Sedentary or minimally physically active for at least the prior 1 year. * Women will be premenopausal or postmenopausal (either natural or surgical) defined as a cessation of menses for at least 2 years. * Premenopausal women will be eumenorrheic and will be studied during the early follicular phase (days 1 through 6) of the menstrual cycle. * Able to give consent. Inclusion Criteria for young adults: * Healthy men and women 18 to 35 years of age * Sedentary or minimally physically active for at least the prior 1 year. * Women will be premenopausal, eumenorrheic and will be studied during the early follicular phase (days 1 through 6) of the menstrual cycle. * Able to give consent.
Exclusion criteria
* history of diabetes * history of any relevant cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, history of coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty, congestive heart failure, or arrhythmia) * hypertension (≥160 mmHg systolic or ≥100 mmHg diastolic) * history of renal impairment * history of gout or hyperuricemia * history of hepatic disease or infection with hepatitis B, C * history of seizures, or other relevant on-going or recurrent illness * recent (within 3 months) or recurrent hospitalizations * use of tobacco products * \>5 % weight change in the prior 6 months. * current intake of medications that may affect study results * participation in regular aerobic exercise training (\>30 minutes, * 3 times/wk in the past year). * premenopausal women taking oral contraceptives and postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy. * pregnancy (positive urine pregnancy test) or lactation
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in vascular endothelial function | At baseline and after 8 weeks of exercise training | Brachial flow-mediated dilation using ultrasonography |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in factors related with endothelial function | At baseline and after 8 weeks of exercise training | Blood and cellular markers of oxidative stress and inflammation |
| Change in arterial stiffness | At baseline and after 8 weeks of exercise training | Arterial stiffness and wave reflection will be measured using the SphygmoCor device |
| Change in cardiac function | At baseline and after 8 weeks of exercise training | Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function will be measured using echocardiography |
| Change in maximal oxygen consumption | At baseline and after 8 weeks of exercise training | Maximal oxygen consumption will be measured using online computer-assisted open-circuit spirometry during incremental treadmill exercise |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed