A randomised controlled study of the long-term effects of exercise training on mortality in elderly people: study protocol for the Generation 100 study

Abstract

IntroductionEpidemiological studies suggest that exercise has a tremendous preventative effect on morbidity and premature death, but these findings need to be confirmed by randomised trials. Generation 100 is a randomised, controlled study where the primary aim is to evaluate the effects of 5 years of exercise training on mortality in an elderly population.Methods and analysisAll men and women born in the years 1936–1942 (n=6966), who were residents of Trondheim, Norway, were invited to participate. Between August 2012 and June 2013, a total of 1567 individuals (790 women) were included and randomised to either 5 years of two weekly sessions of high-intensity training (10 min warm-up followed by 4×4 min intervals at ∼90% of peak heart rate) or, moderate-intensity training (50 min of continuous work at ∼70% of peak heart rate), or to a control group that followed physical activity advice according to national recommendations. Clinical examinations, physical tests and questionnaires will be administered to all participants at baseline, and after 1, 3 and 5 years. Participants will also be followed up by linking to health registries until year 2035.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been conducted according to the SPIRIT statement. All participants signed a written consent form, and the study has been approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Norway. Projects such as this are warranted in the literature, and we expect that data from this study will result in numerous papers published in world-leading clinical journals; we will also present the results at international and national conferences.Trial registration numberClinical trial gov NCT01666340.

Are Older Adults Physically Active Enough – A Matter of Assessment Method? The Generation 100 Study

“…All males and females born between years 1936 to 1942, with a permanent address in the municipality of Trondheim were invited to participate [18]. More details regarding the Generation 100 study, including criteria for eligibility, comorbidities and risk factors of this population sample, were described elsewhere [18]. Participants with incomplete/missing accelerometer data, clinical data, and questionnaire data were excluded.…”

“…Age was calculated from month/year of birth and month/year of inclusion, and dichotomized into 3 age groups (70–71, 72–75 and 76–77 years). Detailed protocol for assessment of body weight (kg), body height (cm) and body mass index (BMI; kg·m -2 ) has been published elsewhere [18]. Seasonal data were obtained from the activity data (month of assessment).…”

High-intensity interval training: key data needed to bridge the gap from laboratory to public health policy

“…There are no trials of HIIT of this duration. A 5-year trial comparing HIIT (40 min sessions with 4 min intervals at 85–95% HRmax twice weekly), with moderate intensity and control groups, in people aged 70–76 years at baseline recently begun 5. The findings of this trial will be eagerly awaited but other such trials in a wider age range and population types are urgently needed.…”

Is physical activity a cause of longevity? It is not as straightforward as some would believe. A critical analysis

“…In younger age groups the deaths are rare, and issues related to voluntariness and health screening of participants as well as possible cointerventions in exercise groups usually make generalisation of results challenging towards general recommendations for the elderly populations. However, the results of the promising Generation 100 Study57 which has randomised 1567 selected (22% of invited participants randomised) older individuals to exercise training versus control groups with the primary aim to evaluate the effects of 5 years of exercise training on mortality will be of interest.…”