Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| All (n = 88) | CT (n = 30) | RT (n = 32) | RTS (n = 26) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender [female/male] | 77/11 | 25/5 | 28/4 | 24/2 | 0.602 |
| Age [years] | 84.5 (65.0–97.4) | 84.5 (69.4–97.4) | 84.4 (71.7–93.2) | 84.3 (65.0–92.2) | 0.864 |
| BMI [kg/m2] | 28.9 (18.1–50.0) | 29.8 (18.1–36.9) | 28.2 (22.7–40.2) | 27.9 (22.9–50.0) | 0.741 |
| Obesity [n (%)] | 32 (36.8 %) | 14 (46.7 %) | 8 (25.0 %) | 10 (35.7 %) | 0.235 |
| Hyperlipidaemia [n (%)] | 32 (36.4 %) | 9 (30.0 %) | 10 (31.3 %) | 13 (46.4 %) | 0.226 |
| Diabetes Type II [n (%)] | 14 (15.9 %) | 6 (20 %) | 7 (21.9 %) | 1 (3.6 %) | 0.132 |
| Hypertension [n (%)] | 70 (79.5 %) | 26 (86.7 %) | 27 (84.4 %) | 17 (60.7 %) | 0.100 |
| Cardiac diseases [n (%)] | 27 (30.7 %) | 12 (40.0 %) | 9 (28.1 %) | 6 (21.4 %) | 0.362 |
| Osteoporosis [n (%)] | 35 (39.8 %) | 12 (40.0 %) | 12 (37.5 %) | 11 (39.3 %) | 0.933 |
| History of cancer [n (%)] | 12 (13.6 %) | 5 (16.7 %) | 4 (12.5 %) | 3 (10.7 %) | 0.833 |
| Leukocyte subpopulations and circulating biomarkers | |||||
| Leukocytes [x109 cells/L] | 6.6 (3.3–13.0) | 7.4 (4.9–10.3)* | 5.8 (3.1–9.8) | 6.9 (4.4–13.3)* | 0.002 |
| Lymphocytes [cells/μl] | 1990 (930–4930) | 1985 (910–3510) | 1835 (830–3330) | 2200 (1460–4700) | 0.085 |
| Neutrophils [cells/μl] | 3695 (1530–9860) | 4414 (2410–6630)* | 2931 (1530–6800) | 3889 (2370–9860) | <0.001 |
| Eosinophils [cells/μl] | 200 (10–740) | 225 (36–620) | 160 (10–740) | 220 (10–470) | 0.135 |
| Basophils [cells/μl] | 40 (10–111) | 45 (10–111) | 35 (10–190) | 35 (10–90) | 0.397 |
| Monocytes [cells/μl] | 560 (250–910) | 587 (72–950) | 520 (260–860) | 545 (320–960) | 0.189 |
| hs-CRP [mg/L] | 1.95 (0.3–7.9) | 2.1 (0.5–7.9) | 1.9 (0.3–7.6) | 1.9 (0.6–6.7) | 0.918 |
| TGF-β [μg/L] | 33.3 (16.7–73.7) | 38.2 (18.7–73.7) | 32.8 (16.7–55.4) | 32.1 (21.0–51.2) | 0.083 |
| PBMC gene expression | |||||
| TGF-β/GAPDH [-] | 0.85 (0.06–3.36) | 0.48 (0.23–2.66) | 0.60 (0.21–2.52) | 0.58 (0.06–3.36) | 0.725 |
| TGF-βRI/GAPDH [-] | 2.05 (0.14–28.82) | 1.99 (0.14–22.39) | 2.04 (0.69–19.25) | 2.11 (0.29–28.81) | 0.990 |
| TGF-βRII/GAPDH [-] | 1.67 (0.51–15.85) | 1.54 (0.66–7.79) | 1.60 (0.66–14.85) | 1.79 (0.51–10.80) | 0.714 |
| miRNA–21 [copies/pg] | 2400 (57–4720) | 2920 (343–4500) | 2120 (57–4720) | 2350 (550–4590) | 0.765 |
Data are expressed as medians (min–max); Group differences were detected using X 2 or Kruskal–Wallis tests and if significant, followed by Bonferroni-corrected post-hoc analyses (*p < 0.05 vs. RT); significant differences are marked in bold
Abbreviations: CT cognitive training, RT resistance training, RTS resistance training plus supplement, PBMC peripheral blood mononuclear cell, hs-CRP high sensitive C-reactive protein, TGF-β transforming growth factor-β, TGF-βR TGF-β receptor, GAPDH glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, miR-21 microRNA-21