Table 3.

Indicators with statistically significant differences between the two groups after 6 months

Indicator	Group A	Group B	t test	P value
VO2peak pred%	72.05 ± 14.98	64.66 ± 17.04	2.160	0.034
HRpeak (bpm)	135.60 ± 16.38	121.61 ± 15.22	4.171	< 0.001
AT (mL/kg/min)	13.42 ± 3.95	11.64 ± 3.46	2.253	0.027
VE/VCO2@AT	27.24 ± 2.87	29.52 ± 3.71	− 3.161	0.002
VE/VCO2 slope	27.78 ± 3.91	29.52 ± 3.71	− 1.864	0.002
OUES	1777.38 ± 416.50	1565.99 ± 381.52	2.495	0.014

Quantitative variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation in normal distributions; VO_2peak pred%, percentage of predicted peak oxygen uptake; HR_peak, peak heart rate; AT, anaerobic threshold; VE/VCO₂@AT, ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide at anaerobic threshold; VE/VCO₂ slope, the relationship between change in V̇E and V̇CO₂ during incremental exercise; OUES, oxygen uptake efficiency slope