Strength Training in Nonagenarians (STRONG)

Health Enhancing Strength Training in Nonagenarians

The Health Enhancing Strength Training in Nonagenarians (STRONG) is a randomised control trial to assess the effectiveness of an aerobic and strength training program for improving functional capacity and quality of life in nonagenarians. Sixty (51 women) nonagenarians (age range: 90-102 years) who live in a geriatric nursing home will be randomly assigned to either a usual care (control) group (n=30) or an intervention (training) group (n=30). Participants allocated in the usual care group will receive general physical activity guidelines and participants allocated in the intervention group will also enroll in three weekly non-consecutive individualized training sessions (~45-50 min each) during 8 weeks. The exercise program will consist of muscular strength [with a special focus on leg press at 30% (start of the program) to 70% 1 repetition maximum (end)] and aerobic exercises (cycle-ergometry during 3-5 to 15 minutes at 12-14 points in the rate of perceived exertion scale). Results from STRONG will help to better understand the potential of regular physical activity for improving the well-being of the oldest population groups.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Elderly
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: 8-week aerobic and strength training program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Madrid, Spain, 28007
    • Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 90 years to 110 years (OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 90 years or over.
• Planning to stay in the same nursing home during the study.
• Able to ambulate, with or without assistance.
• Able to communicate.
• Informed consent: Must be capable and willing to provide consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Acute or terminal illness.
• Myocardial infarction in the past 3 months.
• Not capable to ambulate.
• Unstable cardiovascular disease or other medical condition.
• Upper or lower extremity fracture in the past 3 months.
• Severe dementia.
• Unwillingness to either complete the study requirements or to be randomised into control or training group.
• Presence of neuromuscular disease or drugs affecting neuromuscular function.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: 2; The experimental group will participate in the aerobic and strength training program.	Behavioral: 8-week aerobic and strength training program; Participants allocated in the intervention group will be enrolled in three weekly non-consecutive training sessions for 8 weeks. Each session will last for about 45-50 min. The exercise program will consist of muscular strength and aerobic exercises. Each session will start and end with a low intensity ~5-7 min warm-up and cool-down period respectively, consisting mainly of stretching exercises involving all major muscle groups.
NO_INTERVENTION: 1; The usual care group will receive general physical activity guidelines.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Functional capacity and quality of life	August 2009

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Depressive symptoms, falls and body composition	August 2009

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon
• Collaborators: Karolinska Institutet; Universidad Europea de Madrid

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Serra Rexach JA, Ruiz JR, Bustamante-Ara N, Villaran MH, Gil PG, Sanz Ibanez MJ, Sanz NB, Santamaria VO, Sanz NG, Prada AB, Gallardo C, Romo GR, Lucia A. Health enhancing strength training in nonagenarians (STRONG): rationale, design and methods. BMC Public Health. 2009 May 26;9:152. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-152.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2009
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): September 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 20, 2009
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2009
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): February 23, 2009

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): September 13, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 11, 2019
• Last Verified: September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Quality of life; Physical activity; Body composition; Falls; Functional capacity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 140