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

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, Caton...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) 2002-12, Vol.50 (12), p.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: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aerobic training
Aged
Aged, 80 and over - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Electrocardiography
Exercise
Exercise Test
Female
Frail Elderly
Geriatrics
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Older people
Oxygen
Oxygen Consumption
Physical Education and Training
Pilot Projects
Prevention and actions
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...)
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0002-8614
1532-5415
DOI:10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50613.x