Table 1.
Participant characteristics.
| Variables | Total |
Young (18–35 years) |
Middle aged (35–64 years) |
Older (65–80 years) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males (N = 30) | Females (N = 34) | Males (N = 10) | Females (N = 10) | Males (N = 12) | Females (N = 14) | Males (N = 8) | Females (N = 10) | |
| Age (years) | 49.3 ± 18.6 | 49.5 ± 16.4 | 26.2 ± 2.8a,b | 27.4 ± 2.3a,b | 50.6 ± 8.7a,c | 54.4 ± 6.7a,c | 71.1 ± 3.5b,c | 69.2 ± 3.9b,c |
| Height (cm) | 174.0 ± 9.2† | 171.8 ± 8.1 | 175.1 ± 6.9 | 169.6 ± 3.7 | 171.2 ± 10.5 | 175.7 ± 6.9 | 176.8 ± 9.7 | 165.5 ± 6.9 |
| Weight (kg) | 75.0 ± 13.2*† | 73.3 ± 14.5 | 70.1 ± 11.0 | 71.7 ± 13.3 | 72.6 ± 10.0 | 78.3 ± 15.8 | 84.9 ± 16.0 | 63.5 ± 5.9 |
| BMI (kg m2) | 21.5 ± 3.0† | 21.3 ± 3.6 | 20.0 ± 2.6 | 21.1 ± 3.7 | 21.1 ± 2.1 | 22.2 ± 3.7 | 23.9 ± 3.5 | 19.2 ± 2.3 |
| PA (METmins · week−1) | 1954 ± 1133 | 2147 ± 1246 | 1171 ± 352 | 2280 ± 1223 | 1927 ± 1059 | 2229 ± 1297 | 2223 ± 1806 | 1756 ± 1260 |
| PCAv (cm/s) | 40.1 ± 9.0† | 42.9 ± 11.2 | 38.4 ± 8.9b | 52.3 ± 11.6b | 42.2 ± 9.2c | 41.8 ± 8.1c | 39.0 ± 9.3b,c | 32.2 ± 5.0b,c |
| CVRi (mmHg/cms−1) | 2.6 ± 0.6 | 2.5 ± 0.8 | 2.5 ± 0.5a,b | 1.9 ± 0.7a,b | 2.4 ± 0.5a,c | 2.6 ± 0.7a,c | 2.9 ± 0.8b,c | 3.3 ± 0.5b,c |
| CVC (cms−1/mmHg) | 0.4 ± 0.1† | 0.4 ± 0.2 | 0.4 ± 0.1a,b | 0.6 ± 0.2a,b | 0.4 ± 0.1a,c | 0.4 ± 0.1a,c | 0.4 ± 0.1b,c | 0.3 ± 0.05b,c |
| MAP (mmHg) | 98.4 ± 11.9 | 100.2 ± 12.8 | 90.7 ± 7.0a,b | 90.9 ± 9.4a,b | 98.4 ± 10.3a | 104.0 ± 13.2a | 108.0 ± 12.9b | 104.5 ± 9.7b |
| PETCO2 (mmHg) | 41.4 ± 6.2 | 40.2 ± 4.8 | 43.6 ± 5.4 | 39.0 ± 3.6 | 42.2 ± 4.5 | 41.1 ± 5.1 | 37.3 ± 7.7 | 39.5 ± 5.6 |
| HR (bmp) | 61.5 ± 9.1 | 63.0 ± 6.6 | 59.7 ± 8.9 | 60.9 ± 7.7 | 64.0 ± 10.6 | 63.4 ± 6.8 | 60.1 ± 6.5 | 64.9 ± 4.3 |
Data presented as mean ± SD. Data were compared using a two-way ANOVA with main effects of age (young, middle, older) and sex (male, female). Asterix * indicates significant difference between males and females (P < 0.05). When main effect of age is present post-hoc pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni) reveal where significant differences lie: ayoung vs middle, byoung vs older, cmiddle vs older. Symbol † indicates significant age by sex interaction effect (P < 0.05). BMI: body mass index; PA: physical activity; PCAv: posterior cerebral artery; CVRi: cerebrovascular resistance index; CVC: cerebrovascular conductance index; MAP: mean arterial pressure; PETCO2: end-tidal carbon dioxide; HR: heart rate.