The Effects of High-intensity Interval Training on Mental Health and Inflammation

The present study investigated the effects of high-intensity interval exercise training and placebo-exercise on mental health and inflammation using a randomized control trial. The study also examined how anxiety symptoms prior to high-intensity interval training may influence improvements in fitness. Inactive young adults underwent nine weeks of either high-intensity interval training or their regular routine. Questionnaires, a blood draw and a maximal exercise test were conducted the week before and week after the intervention. It was hypothesized those who underwent high-intensity interval training would experience greater reductions in their depression, anxiety, and inflammation than those who were in the placebo control group. It was also hypothesized those who had high anxiety symptoms at the start of high-intensity interval training would experience smaller improvements in fitness than those who had low anxiety symptoms.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Inflammation; Anxiety; Depressive Symptoms
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Placebo; Behavioral: Exercise

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Full-time student at McMaster University
• Speak, read and understand English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exercising for more than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High-intensity interval training; Three sessions of high-intensity interval training per week for nine weeks. Following a three minute warm up, a session contained twenty minutes of alternating between a sprint (80% of maximum workload, 90-95% of maximum heart rate) and active rest (30% of maximum workload) at a one minute to one minute ratio. Every session ended with a two and a half minute cool down.	Behavioral: Exercise
Placebo Comparator: Placebo exercise group; No changes in physical activity behaviour occurred (already engaging in less than 150 minutes per week, instructed to maintain their current inactivity). They were told they needed to stay inactive since they were part of an 'acute' exercise group, aiming to see how long the effects of their baseline maximal exercise test would last. Thus, the cover story gave them the impression they were also in an exercise group, as oppose to a non-exercise control group.	Other: Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in mental illness symptoms (anxiety, depression) from baseline to post-intervention	The 21-items of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck, Brown, Epstein & Steer, 1998) are summed to produce a total score from 0-63, with a higher score reflecting more severe anxiety symptoms. The 21-items of the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) are summed to produce a total score from 0-63, with a higher score reflecting more severe depressive symptoms.	11 weeks
Change in concentration of circulating proinflammatory cytokines (Interleukin-6, Interleukin-1 beta, Tumour necrosis factor alpha) from baseline to post-intervention	Picogram measured from venous blood sample	11 weeks
Change in cardiorespiratory fitness from baseline to post-intervention	VO2peak test (ml/min/kg)	11 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: McMaster University
• Collaborators: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jennifer Heisz, PhD, McMaster University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Reiss S, Peterson RA, Gursky DM, McNally RJ. Anxiety sensitivity, anxiety frequency and the prediction of fearfulness. Behav Res Ther. 1986;24(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(86)90143-9. No abstract available.
• Paolucci EM, Loukov D, Bowdish DME, Heisz JJ. Exercise reduces depression and inflammation but intensity matters. Biol Psychol. 2018 Mar;133:79-84. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.01.015. Epub 2018 Feb 3.
• Stubbs B, Rosenbaum S, Vancampfort D, Ward PB, Schuch FB. Exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness in people with depression: A meta-analysis of randomized control trials. J Affect Disord. 2016 Jan 15;190:249-253. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.10.010. Epub 2015 Oct 23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 14, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 8, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): April 8, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 3, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 4, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 8, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 8, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 4, 2019
• Last Verified: October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Pathologic Processes; Depression; Inflammation
• Other Study ID Numbers: 13-508

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: The sharing of individual data with other researchers was not included in the informed consent signed by participants. Therefore, individual data will not be released.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No