The role of resistance exercise training for improving cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Declines in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle mass are both associated with advancing age and each of these declines is associated with worse health outcomes. Resistance exercise training (RET) has previously been shown to improve muscle mass and function in the older population. If RET is also able to improve CRF, as it has been shown to do in younger populations, it has the potential to improve multiple health outcomes in the expanding older population. Methods This systematic review aimed to identify the role of RET for improving CRF in healthy older adults. A search across CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and EMCARE databases was conducted with meta-analysis performed on eligible papers to identify improvements in established CRF parameters (VO2 peak, aerobic threshold (AT), 6-minute walking distance test (6MWT) following RET intervention. Main eligibility criteria included older adults (aged over 60), healthy cohorts (disease-specific cohorts were excluded) and RET intervention. Results Thirty-seven eligible studies were identified. Meta-analysis revealed a significant improvement in VO2 peak (MD 1.89 ml/kg/min; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–2.57 ml/kg/min), AT (MD 1.27 ml/kg/min; 95% CI 0.44–2.09 ml/kg/min) and 6MWT (MD 30.89; 95% CI 26.7–35.08) in RET interventions less than 24 weeks. There was no difference in VO2 peak or 6MWT in interventions longer than 24 weeks. Discussion This systematic review adds to a growing body of evidence supporting the implementation of RET in the older population for improving whole-body health, particularly in time-limited timeframes.

Resistance training and inter-interindividual response differences on cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults: An ancillary meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…10 The characteristics of the included studies are described here in the Methods versus the Results section of the final manuscript because they were derived from the previous systematic review with meta-analysis. 10 Briefly, nine studies were conducted in the United States, 17,[24][25][26][27][28]32,37,38 six in Brazil, [19][20][21][22][23]30 two in Denmark, 18,35 and one each in either Austria, 36 Australia, 31 Finland, 29 Japan, 33 or Spain. 34 For those studies in which data were available, [17][18][19][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] mean ± standard deviation (SD) ages were 68.1 ± 3.1 years in the resistance training groups (median = 67.7) and 67.5 ± 3.9 years in the control groups (median = 67.4).…”

Functional Capacity in Advanced Older Adults

“…Cardiovascular benefits have been described, as reducing arterial stiffness [63] and blood pressure [64]. RTP can also help to improve FC in older adults, a meta-analysis with 22 studies reported that within 24-week programs, there was a 2.57 ml/kg/min mean gain in VO2max, assessed by ET [65]. In heart failure patients, RTP achieved an improvement of muscle strength, quality of life, and FC [66].…”

Gut Microbiota Regulates the Metabolic Benefits of Resistance Exercise Intervention via BCAAs Biosynthesis

“…Physical exercise is widely recognized as a rst-line intervention strategy to combat obesity and its complications. Previous studies have shown that resistance exercise can enhance human metabolic function and improve cardiorespiratory tness in as little as 6 sessions consisting of < 12 min of exercise over two weeks (Gibala et al, 2006;Thomas et al, 2022). Intriguingly, despite its encouraging bene ts, clinical trials investigating the e cacy of exercise interventions have reported highly variable and inconsistent results (Timmons et al, 2011;Bouchard et al, 2012).…”