The Effect of Elastic Resistance Bands Training on Vascular Aging Related Serum microRNA-146 Expression and Atherosclerosis Risk Factors in Elderly Women with Osteosarcopenic Obesity: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: Vascular aging and osteosarcopenic obesity (OSO) refers to age-related endothelial cells and body composition disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks resistance training with elastic bands on vascular aging-related serum miR-146 expression level and atherosclerosis risk factors in elderly women with OSO. Materials and Methods: In the present single-blind randomized clinical trial, 48 elderly women with OSO (according to Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) method results), were divided randomly into two groups of control (n=22) and experimental (n=26). The experimental group performed resistance training with elastic bands for 12 weeks and three sessions per week for all major muscle groups. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS statistical software version 22. Results: Between-group comparisons showed a significant decrease in serum miR-146 expression (P-value= 0.005) and total cholesterol (P-value= 0.034) in the experimental group compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in body weight (P-value= 0.440), BMI (P-value= 0.553), total fat (P-value= 0.093), BMC (P-value= 0.862), BMD (P-value= 0.564), Hs-CRP (P-value= 0.065), HDL-C (P-value= 0.515) and LDL-C (P-value= 0.889). Conclusion: Resistance trainings decrease miR-146 expression in elderly women with OSO, which was associated with decreased LDL levels and increased HDL levels, though BMI, body fat percentage, total cholesterol and HS-CRP were not significantly different probably due to the type and intensity of the exercises that require further investigation.