Effects of intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia on mobility and perceived health in geriatric patients performing a multimodal training intervention: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background Additional benefits of passive exposures to intermittent hypoxia and hyperoxia on cognitive performance and functional exercise capacity have been demonstrated in geriatric patients who performed a multimodal training program. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate effects of adding intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic training (IHHT) to a multimodal training intervention (MTI) on mobility and perceived health in old individuals at a Geriatric Day Hospital. Methods Thirty-four patients between 64 and 92 years participated in the double blind, randomized and controlled clinical trial. The elderly patients attended in a 5–7 weeks lasting MTI (strength, endurance, balance, reaction, flexibility, coordination, and cognitive exercises) and performed IHHT (breathing 10–14% oxygen for 4–7 min followed by 2–4 min 30–40% oxygen) in the Hypoxic Group (HG) or placebo treatment with ambient air in the Normoxic Group (NG) in parallel. Before and after all treatments, mobility was assessed by the Tinetti Mobility Test (TMT), the Timed-Up-and-Go Test (TUG) and Barthel-Index, while perceived health was assessed by one part of the EQ-5D Test, the EQ visual analogue scale (EQ VAS). Results After the MTI plus IHHT or normoxia sessions, results of the TMT, TUG, Barthel Index and EQ-VAS revealed no significant difference between HG and NG (+ 14.9% vs + 15.4%, p = 0.25; − 21% vs − 26.3%, p = 0.51; + 4.2% vs + 3.6%, p = 0.56; + 37.9% vs + 33.9%, p = 0.24;). Conclusions IHHT added to MTI did not elicit additional improvements in perceived health and mobility compared to MTI alone.

RETRACTED: Intermittent Hypoxia-Hyperoxia Training Improves Cognitive Function and Decreases Circulating Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study

“…These effects can be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and brain diseases, such as AD [32,33,34,35,36]. Exercise combined with IHT additionally enhanced exercise performance and improved cognitive function in elderly individuals [37,38,39]. IHT also improved walking ability after chronic spinal cord injury [40].…”

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia-Hyperoxia Exposure Prior to Aerobic Cycling Exercise on Physical and Cognitive Performance in Geriatric Patients—A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…With regard to the present study, the beneficial effect of IHHE on physical performance could be explained by specific cardiovascular and muscular adaptations, such as angiogenesis, improved glycose transport, glycolysis, and pH regulation as well as mitochondrial functioning ( Gore et al, 2007 ; Verges et al, 2015 ). Contrary, Bayer et al (2019) did not confirm the hypothesis that IHHE would significantly improve the efficiency of an individualized multimodal training program on functional mobility or physical performance in geriatric patients, operationalized by TUG, Tinetty Mobility Test, and Barthel Index. Interestingly, Bayer et al (2019) demonstrated improvements in all three tests in both groups, suggesting that the individualized multimodal training program was effective regardless of the addition of IHHE.…”

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia–Hyperoxia on Performance- and Health-Related Outcomes in Humans: A Systematic Review

“…Thus, 40 studies were examined for eligibility. Of these, 32 studies were excluded due to the following reasons: non-English full-text [ 79 – 82 ], duplicate data [ 72 – 74 ], investigating effects of IHHE or IHHT in animals [ 83 – 85 ], or did not meet the inclusion criteria with respect to the intervention (investigating only acute effects of IHHE or IHHT [ 64 , 65 , 86 – 88 ] or the effects of permanent or long-term stay in hypoxia or hyperoxia [ 89 – 92 ]), or the article type (i.e. not original article: narrative review [ 93 , 94 ], book chapter [ 95 ], or a conference abstract [ 96 – 105 ]).…”

“…Studies matching one of these combinations were excluded from this systematic review. Three studies [ 72 – 74 ] were identified as duplicate category pattern three and were thus excluded from the final analysis (Fig. 2 ).…”