The Favorable Effects of a High-Intensity Resistance Training on Sarcopenia in Older Community-Dwelling Men with Osteosarcopenia: The Randomized Controlled FrOST Study

• Main Authors: Lichtenberg T, von Stengel S, Sieber C, Kemmler W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2019-12-01
• Series: Clinical Interventions in Aging
• Subjects: hi-rt; high-intensity resistance training; osteosarcopenia; sarcopenia; smi; community-dwelling; older people
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/the-favorable-effects-of-a-high-intensity-resistance-training-on-sarco-peer-reviewed-article-CIA

Theresa Lichtenberg,1 Simon von Stengel,1 Cornel Sieber,2 Wolfgang Kemmler1 1Osteoporosis Research-Center, Institute of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany; 2Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine of Aging, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, GermanyCorrespondence: Wolfgang Kemmler; Theresa LichtenbergInstitute of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestrasse 91, 91052, Erlangen, GermanyTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]; [e-mail]: Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass combined with the loss of muscle function, has become a public health issue. There is an urgent need for interventions. The study aimed to determine the effect of high-intensity resistance training (HI-RT), a time- and cost-efficient training modality, on sarcopenia in osteosarcopenic (OS) older men.Methods: Forty-three community-dwelling men aged ≥72 years from Northern Bavaria, Germany, with OS were randomly assigned to either an active HI-RT group (HI-RT) or an inactive control group (CG). Both received dietary protein (up to 1.5 g/kg/day in HI-RT and 1.2 g/kg/day in CG) and Vitamin-D (up to 800 IE/d) supplements. The HI-RT was applied as a consistently supervised single-set training on resistance exercise machines using intensifying strategies, with two training sessions/week, structured into three phases (ranging from 8 to 12 weeks) totaling 28 weeks. The primary study endpoint was the Sarcopenia Z-score; secondary endpoints were changes in the underlying physiological parameters, skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), handgrip-strength and gait velocity.Results: The results show a significant effect of the exercise intervention on the sarcopenia Z-score in the HI-RT (p<0.001) and a significant worsening of it in the CG (p=0.012) in the intention-to-treat analysis, as well as a significant intergroup change (p<0.001). Analysis upon the underlying parameters showed a significant increase of skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) in the HI-RT group (p<0.001) and a significant intergroup difference of SMI (p<0.001) and handgrip strength (p<0.001). There were no adverse effects related to dietary supplementation or training.Conclusion: The results clearly confirm the favorable effects of HI-RT on sarcopenia. We conclude that HI-RT is a feasible, highly efficient and safe training modality for combating sarcopenia, also in the elderly.Keywords: HI-RT, high-intensity resistance training, osteosarcopenia, sarcopenia, SMI, community-dwelling, older people