Effects of a 20-Week Rhythmic Exercise Program on Physical Fitness, Cardiovascular Risk Markers, and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Older Women

This study examined the effects of a 20-week rhythmic exercise program on body composition, physical fitness, cardiovascular disease-related blood variables, inflammatory cytokines, dementia-related biomarkers, and cognitive function in elderly women.METHODS: Twenty-nine elderly women (mean age, 71±4 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise group (EX, n=14) or a control group (CON, n=15).The exercise group participated in a rhythmic exercise program for 20 weeks (three sessions per week, 60 minutes per session).Body composition, physical fitness, blood variables, and cognitive function were assessed before and after the intervention.Data were analyzed using two-way mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA).RESULTS: Significant group×time interactions were observed for body weight (p=.040) and body mass index (p=.042).Physical fitness measures, including the 30-s sit-to-stand (p=.003), 2-min stationary march (p=.037), sit-and-reach (p<.001), and Figure-of-8 Walk (p=.007), also showed significant interactions.Among blood variables, after adjusting for baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL-C (p=.006) and BDNF (p=.033) demonstrated significant interactions.DHEA-S showed a significant time effect (p<.001) without interaction.No significant interaction was found for ADAS-Cog, although within-group improvement was observed.CONCLUSIONS: A 20-week rhythmic exercise program improved physical fitness and induced favorable changes in selected cardiovascular and dementia-related biomarkers in elderly women.While no clear between-group effect on cognitive outcomes was observed, the findings suggest a potential role of rhythmic exercise in supporting cognitive-related physiological function, warranting further investigation.