Abstract
Background: Aging and chronic degeneration are the primary threats to cardiometabolic health in elderly populations. Regular appropriate exercise would benefit the advanced aging population. Purpose: This study investigates whether the degree of weekly tennis participation exhibits differences in primary cardiometabolic parameters, including arterial stiffness, inflammation, and metabolic biomarkers in elderly tennis players. Methods: One hundred thirty-five long-term participants in elder tennis (>50 years old) were initially screened. Twenty-six eligible and voluntary subjects were divided into high tennis time group (HT) (14 ± 1.3 h/week) and low tennis time group (LT) (4.5 ± 0.7 h/week) by stratification analysis based on the amount of tennis playing activity time. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), blood pressure, ankle-brachial index (ABI), blood metabolic biomarkers, and insulin resistance were measured to compare the difference between HT and LT groups. Results: The baPWV was significantly lower in the HT group than that in the LT group (1283.92 ± 37.01 vs. 1403.69 ± 53.71 cm/s, p < 0.05). We also found that the HT insulin-resistant homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) was significantly lower than that of LT (1.41 ± 0.11 vs. 2.27 ± 0.48 μIU/mL, p < 0.05). However, the blood lipid biomarkers (glucose, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride) were not statistical different between HT and LT groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: We demonstrated that under the condition of similar daily physical activity level, elderly with a higher time of tennis-playing (HT group) exhibited relatively lower arterial stiffness (lower PWV) and lower insulin resistance compared to those with lower time tennis-playing (LT).
Highlights
Lack of physical activity is the main risk factor for metabolic disorder and subsequent cardiovascular disease pathogenesis (CVD)
We demonstrated that under the condition of similar daily physical activity level, elderly with a higher time of tennisplaying (HT group) exhibited relatively lower arterial stiffness and lower insulin resistance compared to those with lower time tennis-playing (LT)
Recent evidence indicates that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been suggested as another effective training modality for the prevention of CVD, enhancement of cardiorespiratory fitness, and improvement in cardiovascular risk profile in older adults [6,7]
Summary
Lack of physical activity is the main risk factor for metabolic disorder and subsequent cardiovascular disease pathogenesis (CVD). It is well known that regular physical activity and exercise, endurance exercise, were proven to enhance cardiovascular functions, insulin sensitivity, thereby decreasing the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the mortality from related complications during advancing aging [1,2,3]. Regular exercise training has clear protective benefits on enhancing overall glycemic control capacity, promoting insulin sensitivity, and improving lipid metabolism [4,5]. Purpose: This study investigates whether the degree of weekly tennis participation exhibits differences in primary cardiometabolic parameters, including arterial stiffness, inflammation, and metabolic biomarkers in elderly tennis players. Conclusion: We demonstrated that under the condition of similar daily physical activity level, elderly with a higher time of tennisplaying (HT group) exhibited relatively lower arterial stiffness (lower PWV) and lower insulin resistance compared to those with lower time tennis-playing (LT)
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