Cardiac Autonomic Modulation And Exercise Capacity In Older Adults With Intellectual Disability: A 6-Month Randomised Control Trial
ORCID
Oviedo: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0396-4185
MSU Affiliation
College of Education; Department of Kinesiology
Creation Date
2026-04-29
Abstract
Background: Despite reported physical and functional improvements with aerobic and sprint interval training (SIT) protocols in individuals with intellectual disability (ID), it is not known if these interventions' effectivity would promote improvements in cardiac autonomic modulation. This study aimed to investigate if a 6-month SIT or a continuous aerobic programme could enhance physical performance and cardiac autonomic modulation at rest, during physical activity (PA) and after it in older adults with an ID. Methods: This is a randomised control trial. Participants with ID (age: 50.58 ± 7.25) were allocated to one of three groups [multicomponent aerobic training group (MATG), multicomponent interval sprint training group (MISTG) and control group (CG)]. The programmes lasted 24 weeks, with three sessions/week, 75–90 min per session. The HRV was analysed at rest and recovery, the delta of heart rate (HR) was analysed during 6MWT, and the HR t-off kinetics was analysed in recovery after 6MWT. Results: There were not found differences between groups, moments, or interaction for cardiac autonomic modulation at rest and recovery. During exercise, only MSITG showed a significant increase of HR between rest and the first 30 s of exercise (P < 0.05). Physical performance increased only in MSITG (P < 0.05), while CG showed a significant reduction (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The MSITG improved the physical performance and the vagal withdrawal at the beginning of the submaximal exercise. These findings suggest that high-intensity exercise may positively impact baroreflex function, mitigating the decline in autonomic reflex response capacity associated with aging in individuals with ID.
Publication Date
7-3-2024
Publication Title
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
Publisher
Wiley
First Page
1253
Last Page
1266
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Font-Farré, M., Guerra-Balic, M., Farche, A. C., deMedeiros Takahashi, A. C., Simón-Siles, S., and Oviedo, G. R. (2024) Cardiac autonomic modulation and exercise capacity in older adults with intellectual disability: A 6-month randomised control trial. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 68: 1253–1266. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13162.
