Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training in Community-Based Subjects Aged 80 and Older: A Pilot Study

• Published in: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) Vol. 50; no. 12; pp. 2009 - 2013
• Main Authors: Vaitkevicius, Peter V., Ebersold, Caroline, Shah, Muhammad S., Gill, Nikita S., Katz, Robert L., Narrett, Matthew J., Applebaum, Gary E., Parrish, Sheryl M., O'Connor, Frances C., Fleg, Jerome L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA, USA Blackwell Science Inc 01.12.2002; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Aerobic exercise; aerobic training; Aged; Aged, 80 and over - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Community living; Consumption; Electrocardiography; Exercise; Exercise Test; Female; Frail Elderly; Geriatrics; Humans; Improvement; Male; Maryland; Medical sciences; Older people; Oxygen; Oxygen Consumption; Physical Education and Training; Pilot Projects; Pilot studies; Predictors; Prevention and actions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...); Training; USA; United States; North America; America; Human; Physical exercise; Evaluation; Sanitary program; Oxygen consumption; Aerobe; Elderly; Public health
• ISSN: 0002-8614; 1532-5415
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50613.x

OBJECTIVES: To assess the ability of sedentary, frail subjects aged 80 and older to train in a community‐based exercise program and to evaluate clinical factors that predict improvements in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). DESIGN: Pretest, posttest. SETTING: Charlestown Retirement Community, Catonsville, Maryland PARTICIPANTS: Twenty‐two (11 male, 11 female; mean age ± standard deviation = 84 ± 4.0, range 80–92) self‐referred. INTERVENTION: Six months of moderate‐intensity aerobic exercise training, two to three sessions/week, 20 to 30 minutes per session. Training modes included treadmill walking and/or stationary cycling. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline and follow‐up maximal exercise treadmill tests (ETTs) with electrocardiogram monitoring and respiratory gas analysis. RESULTS: Six months of aerobic exercise training resulted in significant increases (mean ± standard deviation) in ETT duration (11.9 ± 3.3 vs 15.9 ± 4.3 minutes; P = .01), VO2peak (1.23 ± 0.37 vs 1.31 ± 0.36 L/min; P = .04), and oxygen pulse (9.3 ± 2.8 vs 10.1 ± 3.2; P = .03). Mean heart rate was significantly lower during submaximal ETT stages 1 through 4 (P < .05), and resting systolic blood pressure decreased (146 ± 18 vs 133 ± 14 mmHg; P = .01) after training. Multiple regression analysis indicated that baseline VO2peak (r = 0.75, P = .002) and the total amount of time spent in exercise training (r = 0.55, P = .008) were independent predictors of the training‐related improvements in VO2peak. CONCLUSION: Subjects aged 80 and older can increase aerobic capacity and reduce systolic blood pressure in a community‐based exercise program of moderate intensity. The most important predictors of change in VO2peak were baseline VO2peak and the time spent in exercise training. Subjects with a lower baseline VO2peak had the greatest improvements in VO2peak after training.