SarcopeniaINERTIANCT04255745
The Impact of a Resistance Training Intervention on Blood Pressure Control in Older Adults With Sarcopenia
A study testing progressive resistance training in people with Sarcopenia and High Blood Pressure, run by University of Illinois Chicago at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Current prevention and treatment of high blood pressure (BP) in sarcopenia, by non-pharmacological approaches remain limited and are far from optimal. This randomized control intervention pilot study will provide new evidence of the unexplored relationship between muscle strength and high BP in sarcopenia, and… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 60 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Sarcopenia, High Blood Pressure, Hypertension
- What is being tested?
- progressive resistance training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 77 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 27 Jan 2020to 1 May 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 60 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Adults (men and women) aged 60 years and older (any racial/ethnic background)
- Demonstrates adequate cognitive function by the MoCA (education adjusted score of >22 at screening)
- Sedentary or low active adults (not active in strength training)
- Resides in the Chicagoland Area
- Able to walk/perform exercise without complete dependence on assisted device
- Able and willing to enroll and provide written informed consent, i.e., to meet the time and data collection requirements of the study, be randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms, follow through assignment during 3 months active period, participate in 1 follow-up visit at 12 months
Who cannot join
- Subjects with self-report of inability to walk at least ¼ mile or walk 400 meters in <15 minutes without sitting
- Subjects who self-reported having a history of a cardiovascular disease event or physician diagnosed cardiovascular disease (heart attack, heart failure, congenital heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, coronary revascularization, or angina that required overnight hospitalization), cerebrovascular disease (stroke, transient ischemic attack)
- Diagnosis of cancer (other than non-melanoma skin cancer) that is/was active or treated with radiation or chemotherapy within the past 5 years;
- Subjects with orthopedic pathology or deformity that prevents exercising safely
- Diagnosis or history of cognitive impairment (Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease) or bipolar or psychotic disorder or hospitalization for psychological or emotional problems within the last 2 years
- Diagnosis of autoimmune diseases, such as (but not limited to) lupus, multiple sclerosis, advanced/severe rheumatoid arthritis that would preclude exercising safely
Show all 13Show fewer
- Diagnosis of advanced or severe osteoporosis or orthopedic deformities that may prevent strength training exercise safely
- Participants from the same household as those already enrolled in the study
- Current abuser of alcohol or usage of illicit drugs or history of alcohol or drug abuse
- Planning to move out of the area or take an extended vacation during the study period
- Current or planned participation in in another structured program that overtly focuses on exercise
- Currently enrolled or planning to enroll into another research study that would limit full participation in the study
- Investigator discretion for clinical safety or protocol adherence reasons
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60612
About this study
Current prevention and treatment of high blood pressure (BP) in sarcopenia, by non-pharmacological approaches remain limited and are far from optimal. This randomized control intervention pilot study will provide new evidence of the unexplored relationship between muscle strength and high BP in sarcopenia, and experimentally test the effects of an evidence-based progressive resistance training intervention on BP, while also examining reversibility to identify muscle strength as a non-pharmacological target for BP control in older sarcopenic adults.
Read the detailed description
This premise of this K01 proposal is to address current gaps in the literature regarding the understanding of high blood pressure due to sarcopenia, and provide new evidence for the discernible relationship between low muscle strength and blood pressure in sarcopenia, and effective non-pharmaceutical treatment approaches. This study will evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, retention, implementation and adherence to an empirically-based progressive resistance training (PRT) intervention to test its effect on blood pressure in a targeted population of older adults with sarcopenia who are randomized (via block permuted scheme) to the PRT intervention. Built within this randomized control intervention design, the investigators will further explore reversibility to examine whether muscle strength serves as an intervention target for blood pressure control in sarcopenic adults, which will be more appropriately tested in subsequently well-powered R-level intervention studies. Physiologically plausible microvascular mechanisms by which the PRT impacts changes in blood pressure will also be explored.
- Conditions
- Sarcopenia, High Blood Pressure, Hypertension
- Being tested
- progressive resistance training
- Keywords
- cardiovascular disease prevention, aging, exercise, blood pressure, sarcopenia, resistance training, older adults
- Medical subject headings
- Sarcopenia, Hypertension, Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
progressive resistance trainingBehavioural
Individual, tailored, progressive muscle strength and function intervention
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment-only control | No intervention | 30 Assessment-only control group will be mailed (standard or electronic) NIH/National Institutes on Aging (NIA) Go4Life® educational materials once a month for 3 months. Exercise logs documenting weekly exercise activities, duration, time and effort will be requested to be sent back. |
| Intervention | Experimental | 60 Intervention group will receive 12 weeks of supervised resistance training following the American Heart Association and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for older adults. Exercises will include a mixture of upper-body and lower body strength exercises. Training load will be determined based on initial 1-repetition maximum tests (1-RM). Initial exercise load will start off at low resistance (40-50% 1RM) with more frequent repetitions per exercise, and will gradually increase weight load and intensity over the exercise training period. Receives: Behavioral: progressive resistance training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Blood Pressure
change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Measured: baseline, 12 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Feb 2020
- Study start27 Jan 2020
- Primary completion30 Jun 2024
- Study completion1 May 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for SarcopeniaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of Illinois ChicagoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- permuted block randomization scheme,
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Investigator
- Enrolment
- 77 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Illinois Chicago
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Deepika Laddu-Patel, Northwestern University
- Investigators
- Deepika Laddu, PhD, Principal investigator, Northwestern University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04255745
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2017-0009
- Other IDs
- 1K01HL148503-01
- Acronym
- INERTIA
- Status last verified
- May 2026
- First submitted
- 31 Jan 2020
- Last updated
- 2 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Laddu D, Kim H, Phillips SA, Ma J. INERTIA: A pilot study of the impact of progressive resistance training on blood pressure control in older adults with sarcopenia. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Sep;108:106516. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106516. Epub 2021 Jul 24.
PubMed 34311098
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Impact of a Resistance Training Intervention on Blood Pressure Control in Older Adults With Sarcopenia
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04255745
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- INERTIA / 2017-0009
- Conditions
- Sarcopenia, High Blood Pressure, Hypertension
- Keywords
- cardiovascular disease prevention, aging, exercise, blood pressure, sarcopenia, resistance training, older adults
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 77 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Illinois ChicagoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Study start
- 27 Jan 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 May 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 5 Feb 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 2 Jun 2026
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Current prevention and treatment of high blood pressure (BP) in sarcopenia, by non-pharmacological approaches remain limited and are far from optimal. This randomized control intervention pilot study will provide new evidence of the unexplored relationship between muscle strength and high BP in sarcopenia, and experimentally test the effects of an evidence-based progressive resistance training intervention on BP, while also examining reversibility to identify muscle strength as a non-pharmacological target for BP control in older sarcopenic adults.
Detailed description
This premise of this K01 proposal is to address current gaps in the literature regarding the understanding of high blood pressure due to sarcopenia, and provide new evidence for the discernible relationship between low muscle strength and blood pressure in sarcopenia, and effective non-pharmaceutical treatment approaches. This study will evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, retention, implementation and adherence to an empirically-based progressive resistance training (PRT) intervention to test its effect on blood pressure in a targeted population of older adults with sarcopenia who are randomized (via block permuted scheme) to the PRT intervention. Built within this randomized control intervention design, the investigators will further explore reversibility to examine whether muscle strength serves as an intervention target for blood pressure control in sarcopenic adults, which will be more appropriately tested in subsequently well-powered R-level intervention studies. Physiologically plausible microvascular mechanisms by which the PRT impacts changes in blood pressure will also be explored.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- permuted block randomization scheme,
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment-only control | No intervention | –30 Assessment-only control group will be mailed (standard or electronic) NIH/National Institutes on Aging (NIA) Go4Life® educational materials once a month for 3 months. Exercise logs documenting weekly exercise activities, duration, time and effort will be requested to be sent back. |
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: progressive resistance training60 Intervention group will receive 12 weeks of supervised resistance training following the American Heart Association and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for older adults. Exercises will include a mixture of upper-body and lower body strength exercises. Training load will be determined based on initial 1-repetition maximum tests (1-RM). Initial exercise load will start off at low resistance (40-50% 1RM) with more frequent repetitions per exercise, and will gradually increase weight load and intensity over the exercise training period. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 60 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Adults (men and women) aged 60 years and older (any racial/ethnic background)
- Demonstrates adequate cognitive function by the MoCA (education adjusted score of >22 at screening)
- Sedentary or low active adults (not active in strength training)
- Resides in the Chicagoland Area
- Able to walk/perform exercise without complete dependence on assisted device
Key exclusion criteria (13 listed)
- Subjects with self-report of inability to walk at least ¼ mile or walk 400 meters in <15 minutes without sitting
- Subjects who self-reported having a history of a cardiovascular disease event or physician diagnosed cardiovascular disease (heart attack, heart failure, congenital heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, coronary revascularization, or angina that required overnight hospitalization), cerebrovascular disease (stroke, transient ischemic attack)
- Diagnosis of cancer (other than non-melanoma skin cancer) that is/was active or treated with radiation or chemotherapy within the past 5 years;
- Subjects with orthopedic pathology or deformity that prevents exercising safely
- Diagnosis or history of cognitive impairment (Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease) or bipolar or psychotic disorder or hospitalization for psychological or emotional problems within the last 2 years
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| progressive resistance trainingIndividual, tailored, progressive muscle strength and function intervention | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Change in Blood Pressure
Time frame: baseline, 12 weeks
change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Jun 2026.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Results publication: PubMed 34311098Laddu D, Kim H, Phillips SA, Ma J. INERTIA: A pilot study of the impact of progressive resistance training on blood pressure control in older adults with sarcopenia. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Sep;108:106516. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106516. Epub 2021 Jul 24.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Sarcopenia
Enrolling by invitation
Online Exercise Program for Transplant Patients: A Pilot Study
Kidney Transplantation, Physical Function
Not yet recruitingPhase 2
A Study of Bimagrumab in Participants With HFpEF
Heart Failure, Diastolic, Diastolic Heart Failure
Not yet recruiting
The Aim of the Study is to Decipher the Alterations in Signalling Pathways of Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells (Satellite Cells (SCs)) in Individuals With COPD, as Well as to Examine the Effect of Exercise Training on SCs.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Sarcopenia in Elderly
Not yet recruitingPhase 2
MF-300 for Treatment of Age-Related Sarcopenia
Sarcopenia in Elderly
Not yet recruitingObservational study
Validation of Uzbek SARC-F and IPAQ-SF Questionnaires in Adults With and Without Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism, Psychometrics
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Deepika Laddu, PhD principal investigator
Northwestern University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing progressive resistance training in people with Sarcopenia and High Blood Pressure, run by University of Illinois Chicago at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 13 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 2 Jun 2026). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Blood Pressure (time frame: baseline, 12 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04255745, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jun 2026.