Effects of a Pedometer-Based Walking Home Program Plus Resistance Training on Inflammatory Cytokines and Depression in Thai Older People with Sarcopenia: A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of daily walking steps plus resistive exercise on chronic inflammatory markers and depressive symptoms in older adults with sarcopenia. METHODS: Ninety men and women aged over 60 years were enrolled and divided into 60 and 30 adults with and without sarcopenia, respectively. Older individuals were screened for sarcopenia using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in 2019. A simple random sample was conducted to divide the older adults with sarcopenia into two groups: control and intervention. Thirty older adults with sarcopenia were assigned to perform 12 weeks of step walking (>7500 steps) daily for 5 days/week plus resistance exercise with an elastic band twice/week; the control groups (i.e., no sarcopenia and sarcopenia) performed routine daily life Changes in depression and expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured before and after the 12-week intervention program. Two-way mixed ANOVA models were computed for group and interaction effects for each variable. RESULTS: Changes in depressive symptom scores (Δ2.86 ± 0.92) and TNF-α levels (Δ22.16 ± 2.30) were observed in the intervention group after the 12-week program. In addition, an interaction effect between the intervention (Δ4.04 ± 3.10) and control groups (Δ8.10 ± 4.88) was found for the symptoms of depression. CONCLUSION: Older people with sarcopenia who accumulated >7,500 steps/day, 5 days/week plus resistive elastic band twice /week show improvements in inflammation and depressive symptoms. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Encourage physical activity had a positive effect on reducing inflammation and depression among older people with sarcopenia.