The Favorable Effects of a High-Intensity Resistance Training on Sarcopenia in Older Community-Dwelling Men with Osteosarcopenia: The Randomized Controlled FrOST Study

• Published in: Clinical interventions in aging Vol. 14; pp. 2173 - 2186
• Main Authors: Lichtenberg, Theresa, von Stengel, Simon, Sieber, Cornel, Kemmler, Wolfgang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.12.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Analysis; Clinical trials; community-dwelling; Dietary supplements; Exercise - physiology; Exercise equipment; Exercise therapy; Gait - physiology; Hand Strength - physiology; Health aspects; hi-rt; high-intensity resistance training; Humans; Independent Living; Machinery; Male; Mens health; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Musculoskeletal system; Older people; Operating systems (Software); Original Research; Osteoporosis - complications; Osteoporosis - physiopathology; Osteoporosis - therapy; osteosarcopenia; Physiological aspects; Public health; Public health movements; Resistance Training - methods; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - complications; Sarcopenia - physiopathology; Sarcopenia - therapy; Skeletal muscle; smi; Strength training; Vitamin D; Vitamins; Weight training; United Kingdom; Germany; HI-RT; older people; osteosarcopenia; community-dwelling; SMI; high-intensity resistance training; sarcopenia
• ISSN: 1178-1998; 1176-9092; 1178-1998
• DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S225618

Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass combined with the loss of muscle function, has become a public health issue. There is an urgent need for interventions. The study aimed to determine the effect of high-intensity resistance training (HI-RT), a time- and cost-efficient training modality, on sarcopenia in osteosarcopenic (OS) older men. Forty-three community-dwelling men aged ≥72 years from Northern Bavaria, Germany, with OS were randomly assigned to either an active HI-RT group (HI-RT) or an inactive control group (CG). Both received dietary protein (up to 1.5 g/kg/day in HI-RT and 1.2 g/kg/day in CG) and Vitamin-D (up to 800 IE/d) supplements. The HI-RT was applied as a consistently supervised single-set training on resistance exercise machines using intensifying strategies, with two training sessions/week, structured into three phases (ranging from 8 to 12 weeks) totaling 28 weeks. The primary study endpoint was the Sarcopenia Z-score; secondary endpoints were changes in the underlying physiological parameters, skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), handgrip-strength and gait velocity. The results show a significant effect of the exercise intervention on the sarcopenia Z-score in the HI-RT (p<0.001) and a significant worsening of it in the CG (p=0.012) in the intention-to-treat analysis, as well as a significant intergroup change (p<0.001). Analysis upon the underlying parameters showed a significant increase of skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) in the HI-RT group (p<0.001) and a significant intergroup difference of SMI (p<0.001) and handgrip strength (p<0.001). There were no adverse effects related to dietary supplementation or training. The results clearly confirm the favorable effects of HI-RT on sarcopenia. We conclude that HI-RT is a feasible, highly efficient and safe training modality for combating sarcopenia, also in the elderly.