The relationship between aerobic fitness and depression level determined with Hamilton scale in older adults

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a major public health problem associated with both morbidity and mortality throughout the world, in Mexico epidemiological reports show a prevalence of depression in older adults of 9.5% in women and 5% in men; it is widely held that regular exercise and physical activity in older subjects have a significant impact on psychological health and well-being. PURPOSE: To determine whether if higher aerobic fitness is associated with decreased symptoms of clinical depression in older adults. METHODS: Participants (n=21) included individuals raging ages from 61 to 72 years old and were not regular exercisers. The 6 minute walking test was used to determine the aerobic fitness, the total distance covered during the test was determined with pedometers; all subjects were free of unstable cardiovascular symptoms and disabilities that could interfere with performance in the sub-maximal exercise test. Indirect Peak Oxygen Consumption (VO2peak) was obtained with the equation stablished by Burr et al. (2011). Depression Symptoms were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Scale which consisted of an interview of the subjects and scoring 17 items defined in terms of a series of categories of increasing intensity. Statistical analyses included a non-parametric Spearman correlation test to determine the association between predicted VO2peak and depression, level of significance was stablished at P≤0.05. RESULTS: Twenty one overweight (BMI 29.3±3.7 kg/m2) subjects that presented mild clinical depression symptoms were included in the study. A moderate negative correlation between predicted peak VO2 and depression was obtained, with a coefficient of r= -0.5099 (P≤0.05). A regression analysis was performed to establish the significant predictor of VO2 entering the analysis a psychological variable as a dependent factor (P value 0.0102). CONCLUSION: Based on the results, there is evidence that aerobic exercise could be a plausible and healthy strategy to avert depressive symptoms in the appearance of clinical depression in older adults

Relationship between PASE score with anthropometrics and cardiovascular variables associated to obesity in an older Mexican population

INTRODUCTION: Obesity in Older Adults (OA) increases the risk to acquire non-communicable diseases such as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Some reports indicate that sedentary habits or low physical activity is one of the main factor that induce obesity in elderly state. PURPOSE: Determine the relationship between the level of physical activity via Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) test, anthropometric and cardiovascular variables associated to obesity in an older Mexican population. METHODS: Fourteen OA (63.4 ± 1.78 years) from Ensenada city, Baja California were recruited. The PASE was applied individually, in each participants was determined the waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). In the same sense, the Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and resting Heart Rate (HR) were evaluated. Spearman correlation test was employed to determine the relationship between variables. RESULTS: The PASE score was 10.58 ± 1.52. The WC was 87.72 ± 2.15 cm. The BMI showed by the participants was 27.3 ± 0.84 kg/m2. On the other hand, the SBP was 131.07 ± 4.38 mmHg. The HR was 72.07 ± 2.50 ppm. The PASE score does not showed statistical correlation with the BMI (r=0.34; p=0.22). In the same sense, there was not significate association between PASE and WC (r=-0.06; p=0.8). The HR showed negative correlation with the PASE (r=-0.45) however, this association was not significant (p=0.1). Finally, the PASE does not correlation with the SBP (r=0.13; p=0.65). CONCLUSION: The preliminary data showed that the PASE questionnaire cannot be used to predict the variables associated to obesity in older Mexican population

Remote, Whole-Body Interval Training Improves Muscular Endurance and Cardiac Autonomic Control in Young Adults

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise modality acknowledged to maintain physical fitness with more engagement in an active lifestyle compared with other traditional exercise models. Nevertheless, its effects on cardiac control and physical performance in an online-guided setting are not yet clarified. The present work assessed physical fitness and heart rate variability (HRV) before and after an online, home-based HIIT program in college-age students while pandemic lockdowns were in effect. Twenty university students (age: 21.9 ± 2.4 years.) that were solely enrolled in online classes were distributed into three groups: control—CON-(n = 6), 14 min of HIIT—HIIT-14-(n = 8), and 21 min of HIIT—HIIT-21-(n = 6). A maximal push-up test was employed to assess muscular endurance and performance, and resting HRV signals were collected with wireless heart rate monitors and were processed in Kubios HRV Std. (Kubios Oy, Finland). There was an increase in total push-up capacity compared to CON (p < 0.05 HIIT-21 vs. CON; p < 0.001 HIIT-14 vs. CON) after 8 weeks. A significant interaction was observed in high-frequency and low-frequency spectra ratios after the HIIT-21 intervention (p < 0.05). The current work demonstrated that either short- or mid-volume online, whole-body HIIT improves muscle strength, whereas mid-volume HIIT (HIIT-21) was the only intervention that developed a sympathovagal adaptation. This study showed promising results on muscular endurance and cardiac autonomic modulation through whole-body HIIT practice at home

Concurrent Training Increases Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Older Adults Regardless of the Exercise Frequency

Background: Human brain function declines with aging. In this sense, exercise-based interventions has a promising effect on brain plasticity for older adults. Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a positive biomarker for brain neuroplasticity in healthy older adults also modified by exercise training. Selected features of the exercise prescription for improving brain health are missing; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of concurrent exercise training frequency on serum BDNF levels in healthy older adults. Methods: Nineteen volunteers (age: 65 ± 4 year; body mass index: 28.0 ± 4.5 kg/m2) completed either a three times/week (3-t/w) (n = 8) or five times/week (5-t/w) (n = 11) concurrent exercise program. The exercise program lasted 11 weeks and all exercise sessions were performed for 50 min at moderate intensity. Serum BDNF, body composition, cardiovascular, and physical fitness variables were assessed before and after the exercise training program. Results: Regardless of the group, the serum BDNF increased following the intervention (p < 0.001), and there were no significant group (p = 0.827) or interaction (p = 0.063) effects. The maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) increased regardless of the group (p = 0.007), with a non-significant group (p = 0.722) or interaction (p = 0.223) effects. Upper- and lower-body strength increased in both groups (p = 0.003); however, there was no effect of the training frequency (p = 0.53). For the skeletal muscle mass, there was a trend in the interaction effect (p = 0.053). Finally, the body fat percentage was unchanged. Conclusion: Eleven weeks of combined exercise training increased serum BDNF levels in healthy older adults, a response independent of the training frequency. The overall fitness level improved similarly in both exercise groups. These data reveal that a minimal dosage of concurrent exercise enhance functional capacity and a brain health biomarker in older adults

A virtually supervised exercise program improved fitness and mental wellness in healthy and comorbidity older adult individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic affected older adults worldwide. Sedentary older adults experienced more severe adverse health effects due to their shelter-in-place. Physical activity was strongly recommended during periods of social distancing. The present study evaluated the impact of a virtually supervised exercise program on the physical fitness and mental health of Mexican older adults during the pandemics lockdown. METHODS: Participants were 44 older adults who were assigned to one of four physical fitness groups: a healthy control group (Ctrl-H, n = 15), a comorbidity control group (Ctrl-COM, n = 9), an exercise group without comorbidities (Exe-H, n = 11), and an exercise group with comorbidities (Exe-COM, n = 9). The participants engaged in a 60-min, virtually-supervised concurrent exercise session three times/week for 12 weeks. Fitness was measured using the online Senior Fitness Tests and the 4-m Gait Speed Test. Mental health was evaluated through virtual interviews using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Within-subject pre vs. post-intervention comparisons tested for significant differences, between-groups and over time. RESULTS: Significant interactions were found in the scores of the Geriatric Depression Scale (p ≤ 0.0001; ηp2 = 0.35), the Hamilton Depression Scale (p ≤ 0.0001; ηp2 = 0.35), resilience scores (p ≤ 0.0001; ηp2 = 0.46), lower-body strength (p ≤ 0.0001; ηp2 = 0.32), timed up-and-go test (p = 0.018; ηp2 = 0.18), the 6MWT distance scores (p ≤ 0.0001; ηp2 = 0.39), and the 4-m gait speed test scores (p = 0.011; ηp2 = 0.20). CONCLUSION: A long-term virtually-supervised exercise program conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown period led to marked improvements in both the fitness and mental health of older Mexican adults. Comorbidities did not diminish these benefits. These findings provide empirical support for online exercise programs in the daily routines of older adults to make clinically meaningful improvements in both physical and mental well-being

Remote, Whole-Body Interval Training Improves Muscular Endurance and Cardiac Autonomic Control in Young Adults

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise modality acknowledged to maintain physical fitness with more engagement in an active lifestyle compared with other traditional exercise models. Nevertheless, its effects on cardiac control and physical performance in an online-guided setting are not yet clarified. The present work assessed physical fitness and heart rate variability (HRV) before and after an online, home-based HIIT program in college-age students while pandemic lockdowns were in effect. Twenty university students (age: 21.9 &plusmn; 2.4 years.) that were solely enrolled in online classes were distributed into three groups: control&mdash;CON-(n = 6), 14 min of HIIT&mdash;HIIT-14-(n = 8), and 21 min of HIIT&mdash;HIIT-21-(n = 6). A maximal push-up test was employed to assess muscular endurance and performance, and resting HRV signals were collected with wireless heart rate monitors and were processed in Kubios HRV Std. (Kubios Oy, Finland). There was an increase in total push-up capacity compared to CON (p &lt; 0.05 HIIT-21 vs. CON; p &lt; 0.001 HIIT-14 vs. CON) after 8 weeks. A significant interaction was observed in high-frequency and low-frequency spectra ratios after the HIIT-21 intervention (p &lt; 0.05). The current work demonstrated that either short- or mid-volume online, whole-body HIIT improves muscle strength, whereas mid-volume HIIT (HIIT-21) was the only intervention that developed a sympathovagal adaptation. This study showed promising results on muscular endurance and cardiac autonomic modulation through whole-body HIIT practice at home