Changes in Cardiometabolic Risk Factors after High-Velocity Circuit Resistance or Treadmill Training in Older Adults

Abstract

Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) is an aggregation of major risk factors that increases a person’s risk for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease. Continuous treadmill training (TM) has been shown to effectively attenuate the magnitude of CMS risk factors in a multitude of clinical populations. However, there is a paucity of research on the effects of high-velocity circuit resistance training (CRT) on CMS risk factors in older adults. PURPOSE: To compare the effects of CRT versus TM versus no exercise (CONT) on older adults with CMS risk factors. METHODS: Thirteen subjects (1M, 12F; 68.5 ± 7.3 years) with multiple risk factors for CMS participated in 12-weeks of CRT or TM. BMI, body fat % (BF), waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), fasting glucose (GLUC), glycated hemoglobin (A1C), and c-Reactive Protein (CRP) were measured before and after the training. Nutritional intake was monitored to eliminate influence on CMS biomarkers. RESULTS: A within-group analysis showed that CRT exhibited significant decreases in A1C (MD= -0.367, SE= .142, p=0.03), SBP (MD= -21.67, SE= 6.35, p<.01), and DBP (MD= 9.33, SE= 2.53, p=.01), while TM had a trend toward decreased LDL-C (MD= 15.25, SE= 8.16, p=.09), and CONT showed a trend toward increases in CRP (MD= -0.16, SE= .08, p=.08). CRT also exhibited greater decreases in BMI, BF, and CRP than TM and CONT after the intervention, although statistical significance was not reached. There were no significant changes in TC, LDL-C, TG, or GLUC in any group. A between-group analysis showed CRT had significantly greater decreases in DBP compared to TM (MD= -10.58, SE= 3.34, p=.03) and CONT (MD= -12.13, SE= 3.19, p= .01) and a trend toward decreased SBP compared to CONT (MD= -19.47, SE= 8.03, p= .08). CONCLUSION: These preliminary results indicate that CRT results in greater improvements in CMS risk factors than TM. Although statistical significance was not reached for certain risk factors, a larger subject pool may strengthen our results.