Effect of a Brief Heat Exposure on Blood Pressure and Physical Performance of Older Women Living in the Community—A Pilot-Study

Anja Stotz, Kilian Rapp, Juha Oksa, Dawn A. Skelton, Nina Beyer, Jochen Klenk, Clemens Becker and Ulrich Lindemann
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Anja Stotz: Department of Clinical Gerontology and Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany
Kilian Rapp: Department of Clinical Gerontology and Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany
Juha Oksa: Physical Work Capacity Team, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 90220 Oulu, Finland
Dawn A. Skelton: Institute of Applied Health Research, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, G4 0BA, UK
Nina Beyer: Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Unit, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, University of Copenhagen, 2400 NV Copenhagen, Denmark
Jochen Klenk: Department of Clinical Gerontology and Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany
Clemens Becker: Department of Clinical Gerontology and Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany
Ulrich Lindemann: Department of Clinical Gerontology and Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-9

Abstract: Global climate change is affecting health and mortality, particularly in vulnerable populations. High ambient temperatures decrease blood pressure (BP) in young and middle aged adults and may lead to orthostatic hypotension, increasing the risk of falls in older adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a test protocol to investigate BP response and aerobic capacity of older adults in a hot indoor environment. BP response and aerobic capacity were assessed in 26 community-dwelling older women (median age 75.5 years) at a room temperature of either 20 °C or 30 °C. The protocol was well tolerated by all participants. In the 30 °C condition systolic and diastolic BP (median difference 10 and 8 mmHg, respectively) and distance walked in 6 min (median difference 29.3 m) were lower than in the 20 °C condition (all p < 0.01). Systolic BP decreased after standing up from a lying position in the 30 °C (17.4 mmHg) and 20 °C (14.2 mmHg) condition (both p < 0.001). In conclusion, the protocol is feasible in this cohort and should be repeated in older adults with poor physical performance and impaired cardio-vascular response mechanisms. Furthermore, aerobic capacity was reduced after exposure to hot environmental temperatures, which should be considered when recommending exercise to older people during the summer months.

Keywords: aerobic capacity; blood pressure; heat; older women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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