Effects of intermittent hypoxia and whole-body vibration training on health-related outcomes in older adults

Background Aging is associated with a health impairment and an increase of the vulnerability of the older people. Strength training under intermittent hypoxic conditions has been shown to have therapeutic effects on individual’s health. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a combined intermittent hypoxia (IH) and whole-body vibration (WBV) training program on health-related outcomes in older people. Methods A total of 60 adults (over the age of 65) voluntarily participated in an intervention that lasted 20 weeks (three 30-min sessions per week). The participants were divided into four experimental groups subjected to different environmental conditions (IH vs normoxia) and exercise (non-exercise vs WBV). Functional fitness, body composition, metabolic parameters, inflammatory biomarkers, and bone turnover were evaluated before and after the intervention. A multifactorial ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to explore differences within and between groups. Results The results showed that IH and WBV had a positive synergistic effect on inflammatory parameters (CRP and IL-10), bone formation biomarker (PINP), and body composition (muscle and bone mass). Conclusion In conclusion, a combined IH and WVB training could be a useful tool to prevent the deterioration of health-related outcomes associated with aging. Clinical trial registration NCT04281264. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ .