High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to Reduce Frailty and Enhance Resilience in Older Veterans
VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
Frailty is defined as a greater susceptibility to stressors resulting from age-related impairments in adaptive biological systems. Frailty leads to poorer physical performance and functional capacity and higher risk of adverse outcomes including falls, hospitalization, and mortality. Resilience, defined as the capacity to recover from disruptions to homeostasis, is critical to successful aging because it precedes frailty and enhances adults' ability to maintain optimal health and function well into older age. Evidence- based therapies to help older adults enhance resilience are limited and the biological underpinnings contributing to improved resilience have not yet been fully characterized. To address this important need, the investigators will conduct a clinical trial to examine the benefits of center- and home-based high intensity interval training (HIIT) on functional capacity, frailty, and resilience, and also to identify novel biomarkers of resilience in older Veterans.
Description
Impact of Home-Based High Intensity Interval Training on Resilience in Older Veterans More than 30% of U.S. Veterans 65 years or older are frail, which is three-times higher than in non-Veterans in the same age group. Frailty is defined as an increased susceptibility to stressors resulting from age-related impairments in adaptive biological systems, leading to higher risk of adverse outcomes including falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Further, frailty prevalence increases with age, affecting 50% of all adults 85 and over. Resilience, which is defined as the capacity to recover…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 65+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Ages 65 years and older * Male and female, any race * Medically cleared for exercise * Non-frail or pre-frail (frailty score \< 3) * Ability to use a recumbent exercise bike Exclusion Criteria: * Severe co-morbidity: COPD (GOLD stage IV), CKD ( stage 3)), severe HTN (180 mmHg/120 mmHg) * VA-SLUMS score 20 or lower (Cognition)
Interventions
- BehavioralCenter based attention (stretching only) control
Center based attention (stretching only) control
- BehavioralCenter based HIIT
Center based HIIT
- BehavioralHome based HIIT
Home based HIIT
Locations (2)
- Kansas City VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MOKansas City, Missouri
- Kansas City VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MOKansas City, Missouri