The Effect of Aquatic Exercise on Selected Blood Indices, Body Composition, and Motor Performance in Elderly Men with Sarcopenia
Keywords:
aquatic, IGF-1, follistatin, myostatin, motor functionAbstract
This study investigates the effect of aquatic exercise on changes in serum blood levels, body composition, and motor performance in elderly men with sarcopenia. In this research, 24 elderly male volunteers with sarcopenia who met the inclusion criteria were selected. The experimental group (n = 12) participated in aquatic exercise training for eight weeks, with each session lasting 45 minutes. The movement speed for both concentric and eccentric phases was set at 2 seconds; the training load was increased by 1 kilogram every six sessions, and the rest interval between sets was 1 minute. The exercises consisted of simple movements in the sagittal and frontal planes targeting the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The control group (n = 11) only remained in water without exercising for six weeks. The criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) were used to assess sarcopenia, and the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25) was employed to evaluate motor performance across various dimensions of daily living in the elderly. A 5 cc blood sample was drawn from the antecubital vein of each participant in a seated position, and serum levels of IGF-1, TGF-β, myostatin, and follistatin were measured using the ELISA method. Blood samples were collected in the morning, after 15 minutes of seated rest. The ioi353 body composition analyzer was used for evaluating body composition. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were applied at a significance level of α ≤ 0.05. The findings indicated that aquatic exercise led to improvements in serum IGF-1 levels (ƞ = 0.22, p = 0.027) and follistatin (ƞ = 0.36, p = 0.003) in elderly men with sarcopenia. No significant changes were observed in serum TGF-β (p = 0.626) and myostatin (p = 0.508) levels after eight weeks of aquatic training. Additionally, aquatic exercise resulted in improvements in body composition (weight, fat mass, muscle mass, body mass index) in elderly men (ƞ ≥ 0.80, p < 0.001). Finally, aquatic exercise improved motor performance in elderly men with sarcopenia (ƞ = 0.46, p = 0.001). The results of this study suggest that aquatic exercise can be recommended as a safe and effective method for improving certain muscle-related serum markers, such as IGF-1 and follistatin, as well as enhancing body composition and motor function in this population.
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