Cardiorespiratory Fitness Decline After Short-Term Experimental Bed Rest in Older Adults and Ageing-Focused Cohorts Aged 55-65 Years: A Systematic Review.
15 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Epidemiology and Morphological Sciences, Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile.
- 2Departamento de Morfología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar 2520000, Chile.
- 3Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile.
- 4Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago 8910060, Chile.
- 5Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of the Americas, Santiago 8370040, Chile.
- 6Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago 7501015, Chile.
- 7Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián, Lota 2465, Santiago 7510157, Chile.
- 8Carrera de Odontología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Av. Alonso de Ribera 2850, Concepción 4090541, Chile.
- 9Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3460000, Chile.
- 10Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Viña del Mar, Viña del Mar 2520000, Chile.
- 11Cerebro, Emoción y Conducta (CEC) Research Group, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de las Américas (UDLA), Quito 170521, Ecuador.
- 12GIAVAL Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46001 Valencia, Spain.
- 13Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar 2520000, Chile.
- 14Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile.
- 15Departamento de Ciencias y Geografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 2360072, Chile.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Short-term bed rest may reduce cardiorespiratory capacity for mobility and rehabilitation, but gas-exchange-assessed fitness has not been synthesised in older adults. We characterised immediate V.O2peak/V.O2max change, recovery, and countermeasures. Methods: This PROSPERO-registered review (CRD420261431685) searched seven databases and two trial registries through 24 May 2026, with Embase and SPORTDiscus through 26 May. Eligible studies imposed 5-14 days of horizontal bed rest (HBR) or 6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) in cohorts with mean age ≥ 60 years or ageing-focused programmes enrolling adults aged 55-65 years. Reports sharing participants and protocol formed one cohort/protocol unit. Body-mass-normalised V.O2 was primary; absolute V.O2 was separate. Risk of bias was assessed with RoB 2 or the revised JBI tool, and certainty with GRADE. Meta-analysis was not undertaken because three independent, comparable effects were unavailable. Results: Of 1964 records, 15 reports formed six units representing four to six independent participant groups. Across four HBR units (n = 9-19), V.O2peak/V.O2max declined by 4.9-15.3%; two percentages were directly reported, one was calculated from a reported change, and one from unit-adjudicated means (low certainty for direction; very low for magnitude). In one HDBR trial, changes were -13.4% ± 12.5% SD in controls (n = 9) and -3.5% ± 5.2% SD with multimodal exercise (n = 10). Single leucine, approximately 2000 steps/day, and whey comparisons provided insufficient evidence of V.O2 preservation. Recovery evidence from three programmes was heterogeneous and very uncertain; only one small HDBR cohort had approximately four-week follow-up. Conclusions: V.O2peak/V.O2max consistently declined after short-term HBR, but a precise decline, duration-response relationship, specific countermeasure prescription, and universal recovery time are not established. Minimising avoidable immobility is a plausible clinical implication, not a directly tested intervention. No external funding.
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BibTeX
@article{vegafernandez2026cardiorespiratory,
title = {{Cardiorespiratory Fitness Decline After Short-Term Experimental Bed Rest in Older Adults and Ageing-Focused Cohorts Aged 55-65 Years: A Systematic Review.}},
author = {Gustavo Vega-Fernández and Juan José Valenzuela-Fuenzalida and Yasna Jeria-Pizarro and Gustavo Oyanedel-Amaro and Mathias Orellana-Donoso and Gloria Cifuentes-Suazo and Juan Jose Cabezas-Salgado and Christopher Blackwood-Espinoza and José E León-Rojas and Juan Sanchis-Gimeno and Rodrigo Cañas-Jamett and Nicolás Vidal-Seguel and Alejandro Bruna-Mejías},
journal = {Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/healthcare14203459},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940503},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cardiorespiratory Fitness Decline After Short-Term Experimental Bed Rest in Older Adults and Ageing-Focused Cohorts Aged 55-65 Years: A Systematic Review.
AU - Gustavo Vega-Fernández
AU - Juan José Valenzuela-Fuenzalida
AU - Yasna Jeria-Pizarro
AU - Gustavo Oyanedel-Amaro
AU - Mathias Orellana-Donoso
AU - Gloria Cifuentes-Suazo
AU - Juan Jose Cabezas-Salgado
AU - Christopher Blackwood-Espinoza
AU - José E León-Rojas
AU - Juan Sanchis-Gimeno
AU - Rodrigo Cañas-Jamett
AU - Nicolás Vidal-Seguel
AU - Alejandro Bruna-Mejías
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/healthcare14203459
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940503
AB - Background/Objectives: Short-term bed rest may reduce cardiorespiratory capacity for mobility and rehabilitation, but gas-exchange-assessed fitness has not been synthesised in older adults. We characterised immediate V.O2peak/V.O2max change, recovery, and countermeasures. Methods: This PROSPERO-registered review (CRD420261431685) searched seven databases and two trial registries through 24 May 2026, with Embase and SPORTDiscus through 26 May. Eligible studies imposed 5-14 days of horizontal bed rest (HBR) or 6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) in cohorts with mean age ≥ 60 years or ageing-focused programmes enrolling adults aged 55-65 years. Reports sharing participants and protocol formed one cohort/protocol unit. Body-mass-normalised V.O2 was primary; absolute V.O2 was separate. Risk of bias was assessed with RoB 2 or the revised JBI tool, and certainty with GRADE. Meta-analysis was not undertaken because three independent, comparable effects were unavailable. Results: Of 1964 records, 15 reports formed six units representing four to six independent participant groups. Across four HBR units (n = 9-19), V.O2peak/V.O2max declined by 4.9-15.3%; two percentages were directly reported, one was calculated from a reported change, and one from unit-adjudicated means (low certainty for direction; very low for magnitude). In one HDBR trial, changes were -13.4% ± 12.5% SD in controls (n = 9) and -3.5% ± 5.2% SD with multimodal exercise (n = 10). Single leucine, approximately 2000 steps/day, and whey comparisons provided insufficient evidence of V.O2 preservation. Recovery evidence from three programmes was heterogeneous and very uncertain; only one small HDBR cohort had approximately four-week follow-up. Conclusions: V.O2peak/V.O2max consistently declined after short-term HBR, but a precise decline, duration-response relationship, specific countermeasure prescription, and universal recovery time are not established. Minimising avoidable immobility is a plausible clinical implication, not a directly tested intervention. No external funding.
SN - 2227-9032
ER -