Cardiorespiratory Prevention and Rehabilitation Program (PROCOR): Assessment and Prescription of Exercises for People With Cardiometabolic Diseases.

Plain-language summary

The global aging of the population presents significant challenges to health and quality of life, especially among the elderly, who face a higher prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors. Additionally, aging is associated with increases in blood pressure (BP) and a gradual loss of functional capacity. On the other hand, physical exercise improves various cardiometabolic and functional aspects of the elderly. However, determining the ideal weekly frequency of physical training for this population is uncertain, requiring further investigation of the manipulation of this training variable on overall health parameters. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of two different weekly frequencies of combined training on the functional capacity, hemodynamic, and anthropometric aspects of elderly individuals with cardiometabolic risk factors. The study adopted an uncontrolled clinical trial design, focused on investigating the effects of combined training over 12 weeks, conducted at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and involved elderly participants from the Cardiopulmonary Prevention and Rehabilitation Program (PROCOR). Participants underwent a wide range of assessments, including anthropometric measurements, functional capacity tests through the Senior Fitness Test battery and the 1000-meter test, as well as blood pressure assessments using automatic equipment. Then, participants were divided into two groups: G2x, which trained twice a week, and G3x, which trained three times a week during the intervention period, which consisted of three mesocycles of four weeks each with intensity progression. Data analysis was performed by intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP), using generalized estimating equations, with Bonferroni post-hoc adjustment.

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