Effect of Brisk Walking on Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Females with Hypothyroidism: An Experimental Study

A BSTRACT Background: Hypothyroidism is characterized by reduced secretion of T4 and T3 that affects multiple organs including the cardiorespiratory system. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a measure of the heart and lung’s functionality, and it is assessed by VO 2 max. 6MWT is easy to administer and is better tolerated to estimate VO 2 max. Aerobic exercise increases blood flow and stimulates the heart and lung’s function. This study was aimed to determine the effects of brisk walking on CRF in females with hypothyroidism. Method: After taking ethical approval and CTRI Registration, the study was conducted on 30 hypothyroidism females aged 20–45 years taken from various hospitals, OPD, and Community of Ahmedabad city with convenient sampling. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A (Experimental n = 15) and Group B (Control n = 15). Four weeks of brisk walking has been given in Group A, while in Group B, conventional medical treatment has been given. Pre-post VO 2 max has been assessed in both the groups. CRF was examined by 6 MWD (VO 2 max). Result: Statistical analysis was done in SPSS Version 27 by paired t -test (within group) and unpaired t -test (between group). In Group A, VO 2 max pre and post Mean ± SD were 31.73 ± 4.42 and 33.67 ± 4.10 ( P < 0.001), respectively. In Group B, VO 2 max pre and post Mean ± SD were 34.40 ± 2.38 and 34.40 ± 2.26 ( P = 0.999), respectively. In within-group analysis, Group A shows a significant difference, while Group B shows no significant difference in VO 2 max. In between-group analysis, pre and post VO 2 max were 1.93 ± 0.96 and 1.00 ± 0.76 ( P < 0.001), respectively, which shows the significant difference. Conclusion: Brisk walking shows significant improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness in hypothyroidism females. Ethical certificate no: 1968/2021 Clinical trial registration number: CTRI/2022/08/044799