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Carbohydrate mouth rinsing does not affect 6-min walk test performance and blood glucose responses in older adults

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Abstract

Purpose

Carbohydrate (CHO) mouth rinsing (MR) prior to exercise has been shown to elicit enhanced performance and energy availability in some studies. Previous literature has concentrated on examining CHO MR strategies for improving aerobic endurance performance in younger athletic adults. Knowledge of the impact of CHO MR on functional performance in older adults is scarce. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if CHO MR would improve 6-min walk test (6MWT) performance, perceived exertion, and blood glucose responses in older adults.

Method

Thirty-three individuals (16 males, 17 females), age ≥ 70 years performed two 6MWT trials, one of which utilized a 6.4% maltodextrin CHO MR and one of which utilized a placebo MR. Participants held the MR in their mouth for 20 s prior to the 6MWT, and trials occurred in a counterbalanced fashion. Total distance walked and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded upon completion of each 6MWT. Heart rate (HR), peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (BP), blood glucose, and blood lactate were measured before and after each 6MWT.

Result

CHO MR did not alter the response of any study parameter compared to the placebo MR (p = 0.13–0.94). HR, systolic BP, and blood lactate increased and SpO2 decreased across time (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

A 6.4% maltodextrin CHO MR did not alter total distance walked, perceived exertion, or other physiological responses elicited by the 6MWT in older adults.

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Data availability

The data sets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CHO:

Carbohydrate

MR:

Mouth rinse or mouth rinsing

6MWT:

6-mn walk test

RPE:

Rating of perceived exertion

HR:

Heart rate

BP:

Blood pressure

SpO2 :

Peripheral blood oxygen saturation

PARQ:

Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire

SD:

Standard deviation

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Elon University Faculty Research & Development funds. The authors would also like to thank Kyle Edwards, Rachel Mason, and Nicole Turcotte for their assistance with data collection.

Funding

This research was supported by Elon University Faculty Research & Development (FR&D) funds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Therapy Education, Elon University, 2085 Campus Box, Elon, NC, 27244, USA

    Elizabeth S. Evans, Terrence Brophy, Matthew R. Braswell, Joshua Boyle & Stephen P. Bailey

  2. Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    G. Keith Harris & Ruth H. Watkins

Authors
  1. Elizabeth S. Evans
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  2. Terrence Brophy
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  3. Matthew R. Braswell
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  4. Joshua Boyle
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  6. Ruth H. Watkins
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  7. Stephen P. Bailey
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Contributions

ESE and SPB conceived and designed the research study. ESE, TB, MRB, JB, and SPB collected data. ESE conducted data analyses. RHW and GKH created and contributed the MR solutions. ESE, TB, MRB, and JB wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous drafts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth S. Evans.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. As stated in the Methods section, all procedures were approved by the Elon University Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Informed consent

All study participants gave their written informed consent prior to commencing study procedures.

Additional information

Communicated by Michael Lindinger .

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Evans, E.S., Brophy, T., Braswell, M.R. et al. Carbohydrate mouth rinsing does not affect 6-min walk test performance and blood glucose responses in older adults. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 2849–2858 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04753-x

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