NCT04116944

The Resistance Exercise Training for Worry Trial

Effects of Resistance Exercise Among Young Adults With and Without Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 95 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Limerick · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This protocol details the full methods of two parallel, randomized controlled trials of an eight-week resistance exercise training intervention compared to a wait-list control condition among young adults with and without analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Detailed description

Recent meta-analyses support the chronic anxiolytic effects of resistance exercise training among women with diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. However, the effects of resistance exercise training among those with subclinical, or analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder is unknown. This protocol details the full methods of two parallel, randomized controlled trials of an eight-week resistance exercise training intervention compared to a wait-list control condition among young adults with and without analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Analogue-Generalized Anxiety Disorder status was determined using validated cut-scores for both the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire Generalized Anxiety Disorder sub-scale score of 6 or greater, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire score of 45 or greater. The ecologically-valid resistance exercise training was designed according to World Health Organization and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines.

Conditions

• Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Resistance exercise training	The ecologically-valid resistance exercise training was designed according to World Health Organization and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines. The eight-week, twice-weekly intervention was designed to be performed at a moderate intensity. The resistance of each exercise was such that when participants could successfully complete 2 sets of 12 repetitions at a certain load, the resistance was increased incrementally up to 5% for the following session. Exercise sessions were scheduled with at least one day of rest between sessions. The eight exercises included the barbell squat, barbell bench press, hexagon bar deadlift, dumbbell shoulder lateral raise, barbell bent over rows, dumbbell lunges, dumbbell curls, and abdominal crunches.
OTHER	Wait-list	Participants randomized to the delayed-start wait-list condition completed questionnaires once-weekly. The investigator sent a weekly email to the participant providing links to the questionnaires. Participants that completed the eight-week wait-list condition were offered the eight weeks of RET either immediately upon completion, or later at a time of their convenience while the trial was ongoing. Each participant randomized to the eight-week wait-list also completed two 30-minute bouts of seated quiet rest in an empty room at weeks one and eight.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-01-18
• Primary completion: 2019-05-03
• Completion: 2019-05-03
• First posted: 2019-10-07
• Last updated: 2019-10-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Ireland