Protein-Added Healthy Lunch-Boxes Combined with Exercise for Improving Physical Fitness and Vascular Function in Pre-Frail Older Women: A Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether multi-component interventions, including aerobic exercise (stepping) and diet, improved physical fitness and vascular function in pre-frail older women.
Results Summary
The study found that aerobic exercise combined with diet significantly improved right grip strength, short physical performance battery scores, 6-minute walking distance, and flow-mediated dilation. Blood pressure and pulse wave velocity remained unchanged, while high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels increased in all intervention groups.
Population
Pre-frail older women aged ≥ 65 years (mean age 81.5 ± 4.3 years).
Effective Dosage
45 minutes of stepping exercise at 50-70% of maximal heart rate, 3 days/week.
Duration
8 weeks.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
diet group | increase | right grip strength | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #1 |
aerobic exercise and diet group | increase | right grip strength | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #2 |
aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group | increase | right grip strength | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #3 |
aerobic exercise and diet group | increase | Short physical performance battery | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #4 |
aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group | increase | Short physical performance battery | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #5 |
aerobic exercise and diet group | increase | 6-min walking distance | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #6 |
aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group | increase | 6-min walking distance | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #7 |
aerobic exercise and diet group | increase | flow-mediated dilation | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #8 |
aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group | increase | flow-mediated dilation | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #9 |
all intervention groups | increase | High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels | pre-frail older women | - | significantly increased | #10 |
multi-component interventions | no change | Blood pressure | pre-frail older women | - | did not differ | #11 |
multi-component interventions | no change | pulse wave velocity | pre-frail older women | - | did not differ | #12 |
multi-component interventions | no change | glucose | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #13 |
multi-component interventions | no change | HbA1c | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #14 |
multi-component interventions | no change | total cholesterol | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #15 |
multi-component interventions | no change | low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #16 |
multi-component interventions | no change | triglyceride | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #17 |
multi-component interventions | no change | insulin | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #18 |
multi-component interventions | no change | Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #19 |
multi-component interventions | no change | nitric oxide | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #20 |
multi-component interventions | no change | C-reactive protein levels | pre-frail older women | - | no significant differences | #21 |
PURPOSE: Preventive or therapeutic interventions are key to maintaining independence in pre-frail and/or frail elderly. Therefore, we investigated whether multi-component interventions were effective in physical fitness levels and vascular functions in pre-frail older women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty participants aged ≥ 65 years (81.5 ± 4.3 yrs) were divided equally into control group, diet group, aerobic exercise and diet group, and aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group. For 8 weeks, the participants received a set of protein-added meals twice daily on weekdays. The aerobic exercise groups performed 45 mins of stepping exercise at 50-70% of the maximal heart rate for 3 days/week, and the aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation was applied on each limb in 8 weeks. Blood pressure, physical fitness, cardiovascular biomarkers, pulse wave velocity, and flow-mediated dilation were measured before and after the 8-week. RESULTS: There were no group differences in age, height, weight, body mass index, free fat mass, and %body fat at baseline. The right grip strength significantly increased in the diet group, aerobic exercise and diet group, and aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group (p < 0.05). Short physical performance battery, 6-min walking distance, and flow-mediated dilation significantly increased in the aerobic exercise and diet group and aerobic exercise with electromyostimulation and diet group (p < 0.05). Blood pressure and pulse wave velocity did not differ between interventions. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels significantly increased after 8 weeks in all intervention groups (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance, nitric oxide, and C-reactive protein levels. CONCLUSION: These results show that multi-component interventions appear to improve physical fitness and vascular function in pre-frail older women. Thus, possible strategies to prevent early frailty including proper nutrition and exercise may be needed.