Sex differences in physical and mental health following high-intensity interval training in adults with cardiovascular disease who completed cardiac rehabilitation

Sol Vidal-Almela; Kimberley L Way; Tasuku Terada; Heather E Tulloch; Marja-Leena Keast; Andrew L Pipe; Daniele Chirico; Jennifer L Reed

doi:10.1139/apnm-2021-0265

Sex differences in physical and mental health following high-intensity interval training in adults with cardiovascular disease who completed cardiac rehabilitation

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2021 Aug 10:1-9. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0265. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sol Vidal-Almela^{1

2

3}, Kimberley L Way^{1

4}, Tasuku Terada¹, Heather E Tulloch^{5

6}, Marja-Leena Keast¹, Andrew L Pipe^{5

6}, Daniele Chirico^{1

7}, Jennifer L Reed^{1

3

8}

Affiliations

¹ Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular Health lab, Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
² Institut du savoir Montfort, Hôpital Montfort, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
³ School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
⁵ School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁶ Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁷ TotalCardiologyTM Rehabilitation and Risk Reduction, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁸ School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

PMID: 34375540
DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0265

Abstract

This pre-post study examined sex-differences in peak aerobic power (V̇O_2peak) and physical- and mental-health outcomes in adults with cardiovascular disease who completed high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-based cardiac rehabilitation. HIIT consisted of 25 minutes of alternating higher- (4×4 minutes 85-95% heart rate peak (HR_peak)) and lower- (3×3 minutes 60-70% HR_peak) intensity intervals twice weekly for 10 weeks. V̇O_2peak estimated from a graded exercise test using the American College of Sports Medicine equation, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, blood biomarkers and anxiety and depression were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures were performed to examine differences over time between sexes. Of 140 participants (mean ± standard deviation: 58 ± 9 years), 40 were female. Improvements in V̇O_2peak did not differ between sexes (interaction: p = 0.273, females: 28.4 ± 6.4 to 30.9 ± 7.6; males: 34.3 ± 6.3 to 37.4 ± 6.0 mL/kg/min). None of the time by sex interactions were significant. Significant main effects of time showed reductions in waist circumference, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and anxiety, and increases in V̇O_2peak and HDL from baseline to follow-up. Significant main effects of sex revealed smaller V̇O_2peak, BMI and waist circumference, and higher LDL, TC and HDL in females than males. HIIT led to similar improvements in estimated V̇O_2peak (females: 8.8%, males: 9.0%) and additional health outcomes between sexes. Novelty: HIIT-based cardiac rehabilitation led to similar improvements in estimated V̇O_2peak and other physical and mental health outcomes between sexes. The number of sessions attended was high (>70%) and did not differ by sex. Both sexes showed good compliance with the exercise protocol (HR target).

Keywords: HIIT; aerobic interval training; aptitude cardiorespiratoire; cardiorespiratory fitness; cardiovascular rehabilitation; différences selon le sexe; entraînement aérobie par intervalles; female; femmes; réadaptation cardiovasculaire; sex-based differences.