Reliability of Upper Body Exercise Responses in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Arm exercise testing provides an estimate of aerobic capacity in people with lower extremity dysfunction where true maximal heart rate and oxygen uptake may not be attainable with standard leg exercise testing. PURPOSE: To determine the test-retest reliability of heart rate (HR) response and energy cost of exercise (VO2peak) during a maximal exercise protocol using a novel, custom-built upper body ergometer in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Nine subjects (70.2 ± 5.7 years; BMI 27.2 ± 3.2 kg/m2; 3 women), performed two trials (one week apart) of an incremental maximal exercise test to determine upper body (VO2peak). The arm crank ergometer test included two minutes of seated rest, followed by a three-minute warm-up with no load. After a further two minutes of seated rest, the test continued with one minute at a power output of 0 watts, followed by increments of 10 W (men) and 3 W (women) every minute. The crank rate was set by a tachometer at 60 rpm. The test continued until the subject could no longer maintain the cranking rate (a decrease by more than 5 rpm after a warning). Heart rate was monitored continuously and breath-by-breath VO2 was measured using a portable metabolic gas analyzer. Test-retest reliability was assessed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1). RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was excellent for both HR (ICC2,1 = 0.85) and (VO2peak) (ml/min) (ICC2,1 = 0.87). The standard error of measurement was 76 ml. CONCLUSIONS: The test-retest reliability of a maximal upper body exercise test protocol using a novel, custom-built arm ergometer was excellent in our sample of community-dwelling older adults. Further testing of older adults with lower extremity dysfunction is warranted. Supported by the Lawson Health Research Institute.