Habitual rowing exercise is associated with high physical fitness without affecting arterial stiffness in older men

Abstract

The present study elucidated the effects of habitual rowing exercise on arterial stiffness and plasma levels of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 and the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) in older men. Eleven rowers (68.0 ± 1.6 years) and 11 sedentary control older men (64.9 ± 1.1 years) were studied. Peak oxygen uptake (36.0 ± 1.7 vs. 27.7 ±1.9 ml · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹), leg press power (1346 ± 99 vs. 1077 ± 68 W), and HDL-cholesterol (75 ± 5 vs. 58 ±3 mg · ml⁻¹) were higher and triglyceride (78 ± 9 vs. 120 ± 14 mg · ml⁻¹) was lower in rowers than in control participants (all P < 0.05). Arterial stiffness indices (carotid β-stiffness and cardio-ankle vascular index) and plasma endothelin-1 and NOx (nitrite + nitrate) levels did not differ between the two groups. These results suggest that habitual rowing exercise in older men is associated with high muscle power and aerobic capacity, and favourable blood lipid profile without affecting arterial stiffness or plasma levels of endotheline-1 and NO.

Keywords:

• Rowing
• arterial stiffness
• combined training
• endothelin-1
• nitric oxide

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Chiyoko Usui, Eri Fujimoto, Kenji Yamada, Eri Mikami, Ayana Hasegawa, Hiroko Ono, Daichi Saito, Kunpei Tanisawa, and Tsuguyasu Nakamura for their assistance. This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research 20192289 (to M. H.), 21700707 (to H. K.) and 22650166 (to M.I.) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.