Older Adults
Conditions
Brief summary
Research has shown that reducing the time spent sitting can reduce the risk of many diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, and improve health. It is estimated that many older adults typically spend 70% of their waking day sitting, but little is known about whether reducing sitting promotes health and well-being in this age group. The aim of this research is to investigate the health effects of reducing sitting time by replacing it with short periods of standing or walking in adults over the age of 65.
Sponsors
University of Glasgow
National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom
National Health Service, United Kingdom
University of Leicester
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to 79 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adults aged between 65 to 79 years inclusive * Able to walk (without any assistive devices and not requiring assistance from another person) * Ability to communicate in and understand English to participate in the informed consent process.
Exclusion criteria
* Regular purposeful exercise (≥75 minutes of self-reported vigorous exercise per week) * Inability to stand or undertake light ambulation * Psychological condition which limits participation in the study (e.g. dementia) * Inability to communicate or understand English * Steroid use * Use of glucose lowering medication * Inability to give informed consent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Insulin area under the curve | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | Samples will be batched and analysed at the end of the study within a certified research laboratory at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences (ICAMS), University of Glasgow. Samples collected at the Leicester Diabetes Centre will be sent by courier in specialist containers and packed with dry ice. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Glucose area under the curve | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | — |
| Triglyceride area under the curve | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | — |
| 1H NMR Metabolomics spectroscopy | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | Hydrogen-1 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance assessment undertaken on blood samples collected throughout experimental intervention days |
| Blood pressure | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | — |
| Felt Arousal Scale (0-5) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | Positive affect and mood measured using the 6-point Likert Felt Arousal scale (0 = low arousal to 5 = high arousal) that will be used to assess arousal. |
| Feeling Scale (-5 to +5) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | Positive affect and mood measured using the 11-point Likert Feeling Scale (-5 = very bad to +5 = very good) will be used to assess affective valence. |
| Semantic Verbal Fluency Test (number of items) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | The Semantic Verbal Fluency Test assesses semantic memory and language, and participants will be asked to name as many items as they can that belong to a particular category. The categories selected for each of the experimental days will be clothing and animals. |
| Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (number of words recalled) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test assesses verbal learning and working memory and requires immediate and delayed recall of a series of 12 words over three learning trials. Participants will be requested to undertake the delayed recall component at the end of the first set of cognitive function tests and during the second set of cognitive function tests on experimental intervention days. |
| Trail Making Tests A (time to complete) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | The Trail Making Tests A assesses cognitive flexibility and requires connecting randomly located numbers in numerical order (e.g. 1,2,3,4). |
| Trail Making Tests B (time to complete) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | The Trail Making Tests B assesses cognitive flexibility and requires connecting randomly located numbers and letters in numerical and alphabetical order alternately (e.g. 1,A,2,B,3,C). |
| Rapid Visual Information Processing Test (number of sequences detected and errors) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | The Rapid Visual Information Processing Test assesses sustained visual attention using numbers and requires both selective attention and working memory. This test displays a number on screen that changes between odd and even digits and individuals must detect target sequences of three odd or three even consecutive digits. |
| Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (1-9) | 3 experimental intervention study visits over an estimated period of 1 month | Sleep quality measured using the 9-point Likert Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (1= very alert to 9= very sleepy, fighting sleep, an effort to keep awake) based on a self-reported subjective assessment of the participant's level of drowsiness at the time. |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed