Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Molde University College, Molde, Norway.
Myworkout, Medical Rehabilitation Clinic, Trondheim, Norway.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Oct 21;9(10):e28124. doi: 10.2196/28124.
Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) experience disease-related barriers to physical training. Compared with the general population, IRD patients are reported to have reduced maximal oxygen uptake (VO) and physical activity levels. Supervised high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is documented to counteract the reduced VO and poor cardiovascular health associated with IRDs. However, supervised HIIT is resource demanding.
This study sought to investigate if self-administered 4×4-min HIIT guided by a smartphone app (Myworkout GO) could yield similar HIIT-induced effects as standard 4×4-min HIIT performed under the guidance and supervision of health care professionals. The effects studied were on VO and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Forty patients (33 female patients, mean age 48 years, SD 12 years; 7 male patients, mean age 52 years, SD 11 years) diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, or systemic lupus erythematosus were randomized to a supervised group (SG) or an app group (AG). Both groups were instructed to perform 4×4-min intervals with a rate of perceived exertion of 16 to 17, corresponding to 85% to 95% of the maximal heart rate, twice a week for 10 weeks. Treadmill VO and HRQoL measured using RAND-36 were assessed before and after the exercise period.
VO increased (P<.001) in both groups after 10 weeks of HIIT, with improvements of 3.6 (SD 1.3) mL/kg/min in the SG and 3.7 (SD 1.5) mL/kg/min in the AG. This was accompanied by increases in oxygen pulse in both groups (P<.001), with no between-group differences apparent for either measure. Improvements in the HRQoL dimensions of bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning were observed for both groups (P<.001 to P=.04). Again, no between-group differences were detected.
High-intensity 4×4-min interval training increased VO and HRQoL, contributing to patients' reduced cardiovascular disease risk, improved health and performance, and enhanced quality of life. Similar improvements were observed following HIIT when IRD patients were guided using perceived exertion by health care professionals or the training was self-administered and guided by the app Myworkout GO. Utilization of the app may help reduce the cost of HIIT as a treatment strategy in this patient population.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04649528; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04649528.
炎症性风湿病（IRD）患者在进行身体训练时会遇到与疾病相关的障碍。与一般人群相比，IRD 患者的最大摄氧量（VO）和身体活动水平较低。有文献报道，高强度间歇训练（HIIT）可对抗与 IRD 相关的 VO 降低和心血管健康不良。然而，高强度间歇训练需要大量资源。
本研究旨在探讨自我管理的 4×4 分钟 HIIT 是否可以通过智能手机应用程序（Myworkout GO）来达到与在医疗保健专业人员的指导和监督下进行的标准 4×4 分钟 HIIT 相似的 HIIT 诱导效果。研究的效果是 VO 和与健康相关的生活质量（HRQoL）。
40 名（33 名女性患者，平均年龄 48 岁，标准差 12 岁；7 名男性患者，平均年龄 52 岁，标准差 11 岁）被诊断为类风湿关节炎、脊柱关节炎或系统性红斑狼疮的患者被随机分为监督组（SG）或应用组（AG）。两组均被指示每周两次进行 4×4 分钟的间隔，感觉用力为 16 到 17，对应最大心率的 85%到 95%，持续 10 周。在运动期间前后使用 RAND-36 评估跑步机 VO 和 HRQoL。
两组经过 10 周的 HIIT 后 VO 均增加（P<.001），SG 组增加 3.6（SD 1.3）mL/kg/min，AG 组增加 3.7（SD 1.5）mL/kg/min。这伴随着两组的氧脉冲增加（P<.001），但两组之间没有明显差异。两组的身体疼痛、活力和社会功能等 HRQoL 维度均有改善（P<.001 至 P=.04）。同样，没有发现两组之间的差异。
高强度 4×4 分钟间隔训练可提高 VO 和 HRQoL，降低心血管疾病风险，改善健康和表现，提高生活质量。当 IRD 患者通过医疗保健专业人员的感知用力或应用程序自我管理和指导时，观察到类似的 HIIT 改善。在该患者群体中，应用程序的使用可能有助于降低 HIIT 作为治疗策略的成本。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04649528；https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04649528。
