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1 Department of Internal Medicine, 2 Program in Physical Therapy, and 3 Division of Biostatistics, Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
4 Physical Therapy Program, School of Health Professions, University of MissouriColumbia.
Address correspondence to Ellen F. Binder, MD, Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 4488 Forest Park Blvd., Suite 201, St. Louis, MO 63108. E-mail: ebinder{at}im.wustl.edu
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Methods. Ninety-one community-dwelling sedentary men and women, 78 years and older with physical frailty (defined using standardized objective criteria) were enrolled in a 9-month trial of exercise training (ET). Physical frailty was defined as having 2 of the 3 following criteria: modified Physical Performance Test score between 18 and 32, peak aerobic power between 10 and 18 ml/kg/min, or self-report of difficulty or assistance with two instrumental activities of daily living or one basic activity of daily living. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control (CTL) group that performed a low intensity home exercise program or a supervised ET group that performed 3 months of low intensity exercise and 3 months of PRT.
Results. After completion of PRT, ET participants had greater improvements than did CTL participants in maximal voluntary force production for knee extension (mean
+5.3 ± 13 ft/lb vs +1.1 ± 11 ft/lb, p =.05), measured using isokinetic dynamometry. Total body FFM (measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) increased in the ET group, but not in the CTL group (mean
+0.84 ± 1.4 kg vs +0.01 ± 1.5 kg, p =.005). Total, trunk, intra-abdominal, and subcutaneous fat mass (measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and 1H-magnetic resonance imaging) did not change in response to PRT.
Conclusions. Three months of supervised PRT induced improvements in maximal voluntary thigh muscle strength and whole body FFM in frail, community-dwelling elderly women and men. This supervised exercise program may not be sufficient to reduce whole-body or intra-abdominal fat area in this population.
| METHODS |
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We used objective criteria to define mild to moderate physical frailty. To be eligible, volunteers had to meet at least two of three of the following criteria: 1) modified Physical Performance Test score between 18 and 32 (possible maximum score = 36), 2) report of difficulty and/or assistance with up to two instrumental activities of daily living and/or one basic activity of daily living, 3) peak aerobic power (VO2peak) between 10 and 18 ml·kg1·min1. Our screening instruments and procedures have been described (25).
Exclusion criteria were: 1) active serious illness within the past 6 months or conditions that would contraindicate weight training; 2) cognitive impairment judged to interfere with informed consent or completion of assessments or ET; 3) neuromuscular disorders more difficult to ameliorate with exercise (severe Parkinson's disease, stroke with hemiparesis, myasthenia gravis); 4) sensory impairments judged to interfere with following instructions for testing or exercise; 5) chronic use of steroids or immunosuppressive drugs; 6) use of estrogen, androgen, or progesterone-containing compound within 12 months; 7) cigarette use within 12 months; and 8) diagnosis of cancer within 5 years (except for superficial skin cancer).
Baseline and Follow-up Assessments
Diet evaluation.--
Under the supervision of a registered dietician, participants completed 3-day food records at baseline and on completion of each exercise phase. The food intake records were analyzed for total energy intake and macronutrient content using Nutritionist IV (First Databank, San Bruno, CA). A specific diet was not prescribed, and participants were instructed not to make drastic changes in their diet. To control for variations in calcium and vitamin D intake, participants were provided with supplemental calcium and vitamin D, to adjust intake to about 1200 mg/day and 600 IU/day, respectively.
Skeletal muscle strength.-- Maximal voluntary muscle strength for knee extension and flexion was measured with isokinetic dynamometry, using procedures that have been described (26). One-repetition maximum (1-RM) testing was performed only for participants in the ET group, as described below.
Body composition.-- Total body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) (Hologic QDR1000/W, software version 6.2OD; Waltham, MA) was used to assess FFM and fat mass (27). Coefficients of variation in our laboratory for total FFM, trunk fat, leg lean mass, and leg fat mass are 1.8%, 2%, 5%, and 5%, respectively.
Proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to obtain images of the abdomen at baseline and after 6 months. Serial images above and below the L4L5 interspace were acquired on a 1.5-T superconducting magnet (Siemens, Iselin, NJ) using a T1-weighted pulse sequence. NIH Image (v1.62) analysis software (Scion Corporation, Frederick, MD) was used to identify and quantify abdominal subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat areas. Within a region, fat was quantified using segmentation and pixel intensity thresholding to visually separate fat from other tissues. To minimize classification errors, pre- and postintervention MRI images were analyzed at the same time by a trained technician who was blinded to group assignment. The coefficients of for intra-abdominal (visceral) fat area (VAT) and subcutaneous fat area (SAT) are 6 ± 3% and 7 ± 1%, respectively.
Randomization Procedures
Study participants were randomly assigned, on completion of the baseline assessments, to ET or control (CTL) groups in a 3:2 ratio, using a computer-generated random permutation procedure (28) and a block design.
ET Program
The supervised ET program consisted of three, approximately 3-month-long, phases of ET that have been previously described in detail (25). This report focuses on muscle strength and body composition measures obtained after the second exercise phase.
Phase 1 exercise used a group format and included 22 exercises that focused on improving flexibility, balance, coordination, speed of reaction and, to a modest extent, strength that has been described previously (29). Phase 2 added PRT. After familiarization with the equipment, 1-RM voluntary strength was measured on each of six different exercises (knee extension, knee flexion, seated bench press, seated row, leg press, biceps curl), which were performed bilaterally on a Hoist weightlifting machine (Hoist Fitness Systems, San Diego, CA). Initially, the participants performed 12 sets of 68 repetitions of each exercise at 65% of their 1-RM. Our goal was for the participants to progress their workload to 3 sets of 812 repetitions performed at 85%100% of the initial 1-RM, although not all participants were able to achieve this goal. Measurements of 1-RM were repeated at monthly intervals so that workloads could be progressed. The participants also continued to perform a shortened version of the Phase 1 exercises. Phase 2 exercise sessions took 6090 minutes to complete, including rest periods.
Participants were required to attend exercise sessions 3 times/week and complete 36 sessions of each exercise phase before follow-up assessments and progression to the next phase of ET.
Home Exercise Program (CTL Group)
This program included 9 of the 22 exercises included in Phase I of the ET program, and focused primarily on flexibility (29). CTL participants attended a monthly exercise class at our exercise facility, and used a calendar to self-monitor adherence to the exercises. They were asked to perform the exercises at home 23 times/week. Follow-up testing was performed at the end of each 3-month interval.
Statistical Analysis
Individuals that provided DEXA data at the 3-month and 6-month time points (before and after Phase 2) were included in this analysis, including participants who discontinued the interventions that provided such data. Between-group comparisons of continuous variables were performed using t tests, or Wilcoxon's test as a nonparametric alternative. Chi-square tests or Fisher's exact tests were used for between-group comparisons of categorical variables. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate variables that were measured at only two time points, using the 6-month value as the dependent variable and the 3-month value as covariate (or baseline for MRI measures). Associations between continuous variables were analyzed with Pearson's correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was defined as
level
0.05. Data were analyzed using SAS statistical software (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC).
| RESULTS |
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Participant Characteristics
The mean age of participants in both groups was 83 ± 4 years, with a trend toward a lower percentage of Caucasians in the ET group (p =.06). There were no other differences in the baseline characteristics of the study groups (Table 1).
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Total energy intake at 3 months was 1912 ± 384 kcal for the ET group and 1766 ± 356 kcal for the CTL group (p =.20); at 6 months it was 1932 ± 402 kcal for the ET group and 1925 ± 392 kcal for the CTL group (p =.92; p =.29 for group change between 0 and 6 months; p =.74 for change between 3 and 6 months). Total body weight at 6 months was 77 ± 16 kg for the ET group and 71 ± 14 kg for the CTL group (p =.92; p =.29 for group change between 0 and 6 months).
| DISCUSSION |
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Our supervised ET protocol was generally well tolerated, with few adverse events directly related to exercise. It is easily adaptable to fitness centers and outpatient physical therapy settings, many of which now have PRT facilities. Our goal was for participants to perform PRT exercises at 85% of their 1-RM, but many participants were unable to achieve that. Also, many participants required longer than 6 months to complete Phases 12 of the ET intervention due to acute illness, weather, and holidays. Replication of our ET program in community-based settings will require personal trainers and physical therapists with sufficient training to adapt the exercises to physical impairments common in frail elderly people (e.g., from arthritis, inactivity, or previous injuries), and prescribe appropriate and realistic exercise intensities for this population.
In agreement with prior reports, the magnitude of the increases in total body and leg lean mass was less than the observed strength gains. The change in lean mass was, however, related to the change in 1-RM strength. The absolute and relative increases in lean mass are consistent with previous 12-week studies of PRT in elderly persons (19). Our findings support the notion that PRT can stimulate skeletal muscle hypertrophy even in physically frail elderly persons, but the increases in strength observed over this relatively short time period are due largely to factors such as neural recruitment mechanisms (19,31,32).
Previous investigators have reported that PRT reduces whole-body fat mass (1416) and regional fat mass (22,23,33) in elderly men and women. Campbell (14) observed decreases in whole-body fat mass, using hydrodensitometry, in healthy 56- to 80-year-old men and women, in response to 12 weeks of PRT and a controlled energy diet. Treuth and colleagues (23) observed decreases in intra-abdominal fat mass using single-slice computed tomography scans, but not total fat mass (hydrodensitometry) in healthy elderly women after 16 weeks of PRT. In a separate study of elderly men, using a more intensive 16-week PRT protocol and a diet that restricted changes in caloric intake, they observed significant decreases in total and trunk fat mass by DEXA (16). Hunter and colleagues (22) observed significant reductions in percent fat and fat mass in 26 healthy, nonobese, 61- to 77-year-old women and men, and intra-abdominal fat mass by computed tomography only in the women, after 25 weeks of high intensity PRT. We did not observe greater reductions in total or regional fat mass in the ET versus the CTL group. Although we monitored the participants' dietary intake periodically, and did not observe changes over time, we did not rigorously control the participants' energy intake. It is possible that the participants in our study either underreported their energy intake or increased it episodically in response to the energy demands of ET. In addition, ET participants did not exercise at as high an intensity as did participants in prior studies in which fat mass decreased. However, studies of the effects of exercise on abdominal adiposity have not established a clear dose-response effect (34). Baseline abdominal MRI measurements for our participants were above the threshold associated with increased risk for the metabolic syndrome (e.g., VAT > 100 cm2) (35,36), and the observed changes were not of sufficient magnitude for risk reduction. It is possible that PRT combined with aerobic training and/or decreased energy intake is necessary in frail elderly people to achieve clinically significant reductions in abdominal adiposity. Further study is needed to clarify the optimal PRT regimen for reducing fat mass in this population, and to determine if PRT-induced fat losses confer metabolic or cardiovascular benefits in physically frail elderly persons relative to their baseline adiposity.
Our study had several limitations. First, for purposes of recruitment and retention, our CTL group performed low intensity home exercise, which could have maintained their strength and FFM more than it would in a sedentary control group. Therefore, we may have underestimated the magnitude of the changes in strength and body composition in response to PRT. Second, our sample size may have been too small, and our power inadequate, to detect significant changes in fat mass, and it is possible that our findings represent a Type II error. Third, the variability in MRI measures of fat area may have limited our ability to detect changes. Fourth, the 3-month PRT program may have been too short or of insufficient intensity to induce changes in FFM and fat mass comparable to those in studies in healthier populations.
Conclusion
In frail, community-dwelling elderly men and women, low to moderate intensity PRT induced greater increments in total and regional FFM, and isokinetic muscle strength, but no changes in fat mass, when compared to a home-based, low intensity exercise program. Additional studies are needed to confirm our findings and identify factors that augment the beneficial effects of PRT on body composition in frail elderly persons and related effects on functional performance and disability.
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Received December 4, 2003
Accepted February 15, 2005
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