Effects of Exercise Training Intensity and Inorganic Nitrate Supplementation on Vascular Health and Fitness in Post-Menopausal Females

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Dietary supplement, Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

Menopause greatly increases cardiovascular disease risk (CVD). Current exercise guidelines are inadequate to ameliorate this risk and higher intensity exercise may be necessary for cardiovascular benefits in postmenopausal females. Oral nitrate supplementation enhances exercise performance and CVD risk profile in several clinical conditions. The investigators recently reported that 3-days of nitrate supplementation in postmenopausal females enhances acute post-exercise vascular function, in an intensity dependent manner. The effects of nitrate supplementation and exercise training over a longer training program remains unexplored. This investigation will examine the impact of exercise training intensity with and without inorganic nitrate supplementation, on CVD and fitness outcomes. Postmenopausal females will be tested for maximal oxygen uptake and lactate threshold before randomization to one of four groups: that inorganic nitrate-rich beetroot juice, or beetroot juice with nitrate extracted; and assigned to one-month of calorie matched high-intensity or moderate-intensity exercise training. Vascular function and fitness will be evaluated before and after training.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: Female
Minimum Age: 45
Maximum Age: 75
Healthy Volunteers: t
View:

• Post-menopausal female (greater than age 45 but less than age 75)

• Sedentary (does not exercise regularly or less than 2 bouts of exercise per week)

• No major changes in medication in the last 3 months

Locations
United States
Virginia
Student Health and Wellness Building - Department of Kinesiology
RECRUITING
Charlottesville
Contact Information
Primary
Casey Derella, PhD
bxg7vn@uvahealth.org
434-924-1655
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-07-01
Estimated Completion Date: 2026-12-31
Participants
Target number of participants: 40
Treatments
Experimental: Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Juice + High Intensity Exercise (HIE)
Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to consume 1 bottle of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (\~400mg of nitrate each) 2x a day (morning a night) starting 2-hours before the first exercise session. Participants will complete a supervised bout of exercise on a treadmill 3x a week for 1-month. Participants will exercise at an RPE of 15-17 based on the participant's VO2peak test.
Placebo_comparator: Nitrate-Depleted Placebo Beetroot Juice + High Intensity Exercise (HIE)
Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to consume 1 bottle of nitrate-depleted beetroot juice 2x a day (morning a night) starting 2-hours before the first exercise session. Participants will complete a supervised bout of exercise on a treadmill 3x a week for 1-month. Participants will exercise at an RPE of 15-17 based on the participant's VO2peak test.
Active_comparator: Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Juice + Moderate Intensity Exercise (MIE)
Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to consume 1 bottle of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (\~400mg of nitrate each) 2x a day (morning a night) starting 2-hours before the first exercise session. Participants will complete a supervised bout of exercise on a treadmill 3x a week for 1-month. Participants will exercise at an RPE of 10-12 based on the participant's VO2peak test.
Placebo_comparator: Nitrate-Depleted Placebo Beetroot Juice + Moderate Intensity Exercise (MIE)
Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to consume 1 bottle of nitrate-depleted beetroot juice 2x a day (morning a night) starting 2-hours before the first exercise session. Participants will complete a supervised bout of exercise on a treadmill 3x a week for 1-month. Participants will exercise at an RPE of 10-12 based on the participant's VO2peak test.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Leads: University of Virginia

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov