The Effects of Physical Training on Physiological and Psychological Stress-reactions and Cognitive Function.

NCT ID: NCT02051127

Last Updated: 2018-10-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 119 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2013-01-31
• Study Completion Date: 2017-04-03

Brief Summary

One of the biggest challenges of today is the high stress levels among employees in companies and organizations. Physical exercise may be an effective preventive measure for stress-related problems. This relatively simple and inexpensive action is believed to be important for increasing and maintaining work ability and reduce the cost of stress-related ill health in the workplace.

The aim is to investigate how regular physical exercise affects the individual's ability to mentally and physiologically cope with stress. Acute stress physiological responses are measured before and after a 6 -month intervention, where 100 untrained individuals are randomized to either regular physical exercise or a control group.

The hypothesis is that exercise leads to lesser activation of the individual's stress physiological systems and to an efficient physiological protection system. Mental ability to handle stress is also studied as well as possible effects on the brain's cognitive functions. From a work perspective, cognitive impairment due to high exposure to stress is a major problem leading to substantial costs in businesses and organizations as a result of reduced performance and production.

We believe that physical activity can alter and mitigate individual stress reactions. This study brings new knowledge that can contribute to increased motivation to prioritize physical activity in everyday life. The study could also provide evidence for businesses and organizations of the benefits of engaging in interventions and fitness initiatives to facilitate/enable increased physical activity in daily life for its employees. With an aging population, we are expected to work longer, which poses a challenge as the ability to manage stress and maintain cognitive abilities decline with age. For older employees, regular physical activity could be an important factor directly affecting the prospects for a sustainable working life.

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers; Sedentary Lifestyle

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Exercise

Physical training Duration: 45-60 minutes Frequency: 3 times per week Intensity: mean heart rate \> 75% of maximum heart rate determined by exercise test before start of the intervention

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Exercise

Intervention Type: OTHER

Physical training Duration: 45-60 minutes Frequency: 3 times per week Intensity: mean heart rate \> 75% of maximum heart rate determined by exercise test before start of the intervention

Control

Instructed to continue with their sedentary behavior for another 6 months.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Exercise

Physical training Duration: 45-60 minutes Frequency: 3 times per week Intensity: mean heart rate \> 75% of maximum heart rate determined by exercise test before start of the intervention

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Self-reported good health
• Sedentary
• Work or study at least 50%

Exclusion Criteria

• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood pressure > 140/90
• Psychiatric disease
• Anemia
• Medication with substances that could affect any of the outcome measures

• Minimum Eligible Age: 20 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Vastra Gotaland Region

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Ingibjörg H Jonsdottir, Professor

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Västra Götalandsregionen

Locations

The Institute of Stress Medicine

Gothenburg, VGR, Sweden

Countries

Sweden

References

Arvidson E, Dahlman AS, Borjesson M, Gullstrand L, Jonsdottir IH. The effects of exercise training on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity and autonomic response to acute stress-a randomized controlled study. Trials. 2020 Oct 27;21(1):888. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04803-3.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 33109273 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

http://www.vgregion.se/stressmedicin

Webpage of the Institute of Stress Medicine

Other Identifiers

2012-0484

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

ISM-01-2013

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id