RESEARCH ARTICLE


Inflammatory Indices during and after a Randomized Controlled Trial on Exercise in Old Adults: Could Moderate-intensity Exercise be Safe Enough? (Active Elderly and Health – Clinicaltrials.Gov, NCT03858114)



Alessandra Scano1, *, Giulia Cossu2, Goce Kalcev2, Elisa Pintus2, Massimiliano Pau3, Maria Petronilla Penna4, Laura Atzori2, Germano Orrù1, Ferdinando Romano5, Cesar Ivan Aviles Gonzalez6, Mauro Giovanni Carta2
1 Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
2 Department of Medical Science and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
3 Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
4 Department Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
5 Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
6 Universidad Popular del Cesar, Valledupar, Colombia


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Creative Commons License
© 2023 Scano et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Tel:+039 3461385222; E-mail: alessandrascano@libero


Abstract

Background:

Aging is characterized by a progressive increase in chronic diseases. According to WHO’s guidance, there is a need to develop strategies to monitor, maintain and rehabilitate the health of older people. The present research aims to elucidate whether or not a moderate physical activity intervention in older adults can cause an increase in inflammatory biomarker indices such as C-reactive Protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). It is a valuable tool for promoting health that can be considered tolerable in the over-65 population.

Methods:

120 males and females over 65 years of age participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT NCT03858114) in two groups of 60 individuals of similar size and underwent moderate physical activity or cultural and recreational activities. The exclusion criteria were being younger than 65 years old, being unable to participate in physical activity for medical reasons, and a Body Mass Index of greater than 35. Blood samples from participants were collected for the pre-treatment period (t0), at the end of the study of 12 weeks (t1), and 20 weeks after the end of the study (t2) for measurement of inflammatory indices CRP and ESR.

Results:

The commonly routine tests for inflammatory reactions (ERS and CPR) showed no change at the end of an RCT on mild-to-moderate exercise.

Conclusion:

The results on inflammatory indices confirm the safety of this type of intervention and encourage its long-term use and testing.

Keywords: Randomized controlled trial, C-reactive protein, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Old adults, Physical activity, Chronic diseases.