Resistance Exercise to Improve Flu Vaccine for Older Adults

University of Houston

Status: Completed

Conditions: Influenza, Human

Treatments: Behavioral: Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03736759

R03AG052778 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

STUDY00000542

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study evaluates whether resistance exercise will improve immune responses to the seasonal influenza vaccine in older adults. One third of the participants will perform exercise in the arm that receives the vaccine, one third of the participants will perform the same exercise in the arm that does not receive the vaccine, and one third will only receive the vaccine.

Full description

Resistance exercise, particularly novel eccentric exercise, recruits immune cells to the targeted muscle. The exercises selected here targets the deltoid and biceps brachii muscles-those same muscles that the flu vaccine is delivered to during typical vaccination.

Enrollment: 29 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• non-frail older adult (≥65 years old) of any sex and race/ethnicity
• non-smokers (>10 yrs)
• meets American College of Sports Medicine criteria for participation in exercise
• US resident

Exclusion criteria

• underlying medical problems that contraindicate supervised resistance exercise
• past or present history of autoimmune disease, HIV, hepatitis, stroke, or cardiovascular disease
• current debilitating arthritis of the shoulder
• central or peripheral nervous disorders
• bedridden in the past three months
• history of vaccine-related allergies, or severe egg allergy;
• physician-confirmed influenza infection in the prior year
• regular user of corticosteroids
• functional or cognitive impairment that would limit exercise performance or prohibit informed consent
• blood pressure greater than 160/90
• participation in resistance arm exercises in the prior 6 months

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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29 participants in 3 patient groups

Exercise and vaccine in same arm

Experimental group

Description:

20 min eccentric resistance exercise of deltoid and biceps brachii in non-dominant arm, followed immediately by intramuscular injection of seasonal quadrivalent influenza vaccine in non-dominant arm

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exercise

Exercise and vaccine in different arms

Active Comparator group

Description:

20 min eccentric resistance exercise of deltoid and biceps brachii in dominant arm, followed immediately by intramuscular injection of seasonal quadrivalent influenza vaccine in non-dominant arm

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exercise

vaccine only

No Intervention group

Description:

20 min rest followed immediately by intramuscular injection of seasonal quadrivalent influenza vaccine in non-dominant arm