Short-Term Resistance Training in Older Adults

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Sarcopenia, Muscle Quality

In brief

The purpose of this study will be to evaluate whether dumbbell resistance training (DBRT) or elastic band resistance training (EBRT) is beneficial in older adults whom may be classified as sarcopenic based on the collective operational definition and older adults that do not meet the criteria to be considered sarcopenic compared to non-exercise controls of these populations after sarcopenia criteria have been established. As well as identify if resistance exercise will improve muscle quality in older adults, considering how muscle quality relates to sarcopenia status. Specific Aim 1 will determine if short-term resistance training will alter muscle quality or sarcopenia status in older adults compared to non-exercise controls. The study team will instruct and supervise adults aged 55-85 in structured, periodized EBRT or DBRT for 6 weeks. After the training, muscle quality and sarcopenia status will be re-evaluated. It is hypothesized that both types of training (EBRT and DBRT) will improve the sarcopenia status of older adults engaging in resistance training and if sarcopenic, their classification may change to non-sarcopenic. A secondary hypothesis is that EBRT will be more beneficial than DBRT, resulting in greater changes in body composition, strength, and functional movements. It is also hypothesized that muscle quality, as an index of relative strength, will improve after 6 weeks of resistance training with either dumbbells or elastic bands and that there is a strong negative linear relationship between severity of sarcopenia and muscle quality. Specific Aim 2 will evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in older adults using previously-identified equations and cut-off values and to subsequently generate a new index to include functional muscle mass and performance to identify sarcopenic individuals. This will be completed using muscle mass estimations from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), functional performance measures, and structural composition. It is hypothesized that DEXA and BIA will provide accurate estimates of appendicular lean mass (ALM), and functional performance (handgrip strength and gait speed) will be significant contributors to a predictive equation of a muscle quality index for men and women.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT04266678
Run by: University of Kansas
People needed: 73
Starts: 2019-04-09
Expected to finish: 2020-10-30
Last updated by the study team: 2021-04-28

Who can join

Age: 55 and older, up to 85. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

Subject has provided written and dated informed consent to participate in the study.
Subject is a male or female between 55 and 85 years of age, inclusive.
Subject is in good health as determined by a health history questionnaire and has been provided clearance from their personal physician.
Subject is untrained in resistance and aerobic exercise (does not participate in structured physical activity, including walking, more than 3 times per week).

You may not qualify if…

Subject has a history of alcohol or other drug abuse in the past year.
Subject has a history or current presence of congestive heart failure, or any other form of cardiovascular disease that might put the subject at risk.
Subject has a significant history or current presence of untreated bleeding disorder, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure (BP) [systolic BP> 140 and/or diastolic BP> 90], thyroid disease, tachyarrhythmia, heart disease, kidney disease, or liver disease.
Subject currently suffers from a sleep disorder and/or has a known history of (or is currently being treated for) clinical depression, eating disorder(s) or any other psychiatric condition(s) that might put the subject at risk and/or confound the results of the study.
Subject has a history of orthopedic injury or surgery within the last year that may prevent them from completing the study procedures.
Subject has arthritis of the hand which could impair his/her ability to grip a dynamometer.
Subject has severe arthritis defined as grade 3 or higher as diagnosed by a physician.
No history of CT scans (computed tomography), PET and nuclear medicine studies, or fluoroscopic procedures within the past year. Nuclear medicine imaging studies use agents that will interfere with the DXA whole body scan.
No implants, hardware, devices, or other foreign material in the measurement area. These devices will make whole body measurements difficult to interpret when the devices or implants are located within the scan field.

Where it is running

University of Kansas-Edwards Campus; Exercise and Human Performance Laboratory — Overland Park, Kansas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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