gms | German Medical Science

27. Wissenschaftlicher Kongress der Deutschen Hochdruckliga

Deutsche Liga zur Bekämpfung des hohen Blutdrucks – Deutsche Hypertonie Gesellschaft e. V.

26. bis 29.11.2003, Bonn

Optimised primary prevention of inactive postmenopausal women by physical activity and dietary modification: Postmenopausal Exercise Prevention Program (PEPP)

Optimierte Primärprävention inaktiver postmenopausaler Frauen durch körperliche Aktivität und Ernährungsmodifikation: Postmenopausal Exercise Prevention Program (PEPP)

Meeting Abstract (Hypertonie 2003)

  • presenting/speaker M. Laque - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • S. Becker - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • M. Lullic - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • G. Montiel - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • J. Latsch - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • H. Knigge - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • T. Schramm - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)
  • H.G. Predel - Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Uniklinik Merheim (Köln, D)

Hypertonie 2003. 27. Wissenschaftlicher Kongress der Deutschen Hochdruckliga. Bonn, 26.-29.11.2003. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2004. Doc03hochP21

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/hoch2003/03hoch121.shtml

Published: November 11, 2004

© 2004 Laque et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

Text

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in postmenopausal women (PW) in the western world. The hormonal and metabolic changes during and after the menopause exert a negative impact on the cardiovascular risk profile (CRP). This study was designed to evaluate the effects of an individualised, combined exercise and dietary intervention on blood pressure (BP), lipid profile, overall CRP and of parameters of quality of life (QoL) of physically inactive PW with dyslipidaemia.

Methods

28 PW were included: age 59,8±6,6 yrs., weight 68,9±10,4 kg, BMI 25,6±3,6, BP 128,9±20,7/84,9±10,3 mmHg, total cholesterol (Tcl) 285±56,4, LDL 183±51,7, HDL 71±14,1 mg/dl, body fat mass 32,4±5,4 %. A four week dietary modification was followed by an endurance-training based exercise program, 3 x walking, 1 x moderate gymnastics over 12 weeks (4x 90min/week). After 16 weeks the participants were encouraged to continue with a self-monitored exercise-training. CRP and exercise capacity (bicycle ergometry) were examined at the beginning, after 16 and 72 weeks.

Results

Dietary modification alone had no significant influence on BP, lipid metabolism, body weight /body fat mass, CRP and QoL. In contrast, the combination of dietary modifications and exercise therapy resulted in significant decreases of Tcl (249±39,2), LDL (155±3,1), HDL (65±15,9 mg/dl), body weight (66,3±9 kg, body fat mass (31,1±5,2 %). Exercise capacity and parameters of QoL significantly improved. BP (124.6±14,6 mmHg, 83.3±11.5 mmHg)and BMI (25±3,3) remained unaltered.

After 72 weeks Tcl 255,2±28, LDL 156,6±25 and HDL 68,2±17 remained significantly decreased; while exercise capacity and QoL remained significantly increased. However, body weight, BMI and body fat mass increased significantly to 69,1±10,4 kg, 25,9±3,5 and 34,9±5,3%, resp. BP was unchanged.

Conclusions

A combined lifestyle modification in PW with dyslipidaemia resulted in long-term improvements of CR-profile, physical performance and QoL in the presence of unaltered BP. The beneficial short-term effects on body weight and body composition vanished after 72 weeks. It is suggested that lifestyle modification programs constitute an effective non-pharmaceutical therapeutical option; however to insure long-term effects a continuous monitoring is warranted.