Comparison of exercise training and repeated hot water immersion on vascular function in overweight older adults

Costa, JG ORCID: 0000-0002-4452-3255, Locatelli, JC ORCID: 0000-0002-6843-4150, Wigati, KW ORCID: 0000-0002-8542-5934, Naylor, LH, Jones, H ORCID: 0000-0001-8282-1459, Haynes, A and Green, DJ (2026) Comparison of exercise training and repeated hot water immersion on vascular function in overweight older adults. Experimental Physiology. ISSN 0958-0670

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Abstract

Recent studies suggest that heat exposure may benefit cardiovascular health, but in overweight and obese older adults, the chronic effects of heat therapy on artery function are still uncertain. We aimed to compare the effects of 12 weeks (3x/wk, 40min) of aerobic exercise (EXE) to hot water immersion (HWI) and an inactive control group (CON), on vascular function. Thirty-one inactive older adults (58±7yrs; 30.1±3.8kg/m2) were randomly assigned into three groups: EXE (cycle ergometry, n=11) or HWI (40°C, n=11) or an inactive CON group (n=9). Resting blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity (PWV; Sphygmocor), and flow-mediated (FMD%) and nitro-glycerine induced dilation (GTN%) in the brachial and femoral arteries (Doppler ultrasound) were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The groups were matched for age, BMI, and clinical parameters. For brachial FMD%, an interaction effect (p=0.014) was observed, with post hoc analysis indicating that the increases observed in the EXE and HWI groups did not differ significantly, whereas the EXE group increased significantly more than CON. For femoral FMD%, an interaction effect (p=0.047) indicated that the EXE group increased more than CON, with no difference between HWI and CON. Brachial and femoral GTN%, resting BP and PWV showed no main or interaction effects. These data suggest that 12 weeks of moderate aerobic exercise induces brachial and femoral artery endothelial function benefits relative to an inactive control group of older individuals with overweight and obesity, that brachial responses increased in response to both EXE and HWI, and the changes induced by exercise and hot water immersion did not statistically differ.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0606 Physiology; 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 1116 Medical Physiology; Physiology; 3109 Zoology; 3208 Medical physiology; 4207 Sports science and exercise
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Wiley
Date of acceptance:	30 June 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	2 September 2026
Date Deposited:	02 Sep 2026 13:36
Last Modified:	02 Sep 2026 13:36
DOI or ID number:	10.1113/EP094115
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29288

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