Key result
Dance and pilates associate with better cardiac autonomic modulation, while dance yields greater functional capacity.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to analyze cardiac autonomic modulation response and functional capacity in physically active older women across different exercise modalities.
Do physical exercise modalities like hydro-gymnastics, pilates, or dance improve cardiac autonomic modulation and functional capacity in older women compared to a sedentary lifestyle?
Cross-Sectional (n=75)
Do physical exercise modalities like hydro-gymnastics, pilates, or dance improve cardiac autonomic modulation and functional capacity in older women compared to a sedentary lifestyle?
p-value: p=<0.05
Physical activities such as dance and pilates are associated with improved cardiac autonomic modulation and functional capacity in older women compared to a sedentary lifestyle.
Supports exploring dance/pilates for autonomic modulation in older women; leaves open causal benefits versus other modalities in trials.
Objective: To analyze cardiac autonomic modulation response and functional capacity in physically active older women. Methods: Seventy-five older women (60-70 years) from the community were divided into the following groups: sedentary (n=19), hydro-gymnastics (n=18), pilates (n=19), and dance (n=19). Blood pressure, body composition, heart rate variability, and functional capacity were assessed for the characterization of the groups at rest and 48 hours after the last physical exercise session. Results: The sedentary group presented higher waist-to-hip ratio, diastolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate compared to the other groups (p<0.05). It was also observed that the dance group presented better functional capacity and VO2peak scores (all p<0.05). Regarding cardiac autonomic modulation, both dance and pilates groups demonstrated better RMSSD (26.71 ± 9.07 and 29.82 ± 7.16, respectively; p<0.05), LF (45.79 ± 14.81 and 45.95 ± 15.16 n.u., respectively; p<0.05), and LF/HF (0.92 ± 0.56 and 0.58 ± 0.26, respectively; p<0.05) scores. In the symbolic analysis, the dance group had a greater predominance of parasympathetic autonomic modulation than the other groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results conclude that physically active elderly women, practicing hydro-gymnastics, pilates or dance, presented physiological benefits, such as better functional capacity and improvements in hemodynamic variables and autonomic cardiac modulation. In addition, the group that practiced dance presented greater parasympathetic modulation, as well as greater functional capacity, when compared to the other modalities. Level of evidence: I; STARD: studies of diagnostic accuracy.
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Pires et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Physically active and sedentary older women (n=75). Hydro-gymnastics, pilates, and dance vs. Sedentary group was evaluated on Cardiac autonomic modulation response and functional capacity (p=<0.05). Dance and pilates were associated with better cardiac autonomic modulation (RMSSD 26.71 and 29.82; p<0.05), with dance also yielding greater functional capacity compared to other modalities.
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