Generation 100: How Exercise Affects Mortality and Morbidity in the Elderly: A Randomized Control Study

NCT01666340 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: Generation-100
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,567
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Hypothesis: Exercise will reduce morbidity and mortality rates in an elderly population. The extent of reduction will be intensity dependent.

Conditions

Ageing

Keywords

Exercise; Elderly; Mortality; Morbidity; Prognosis; Longevity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mortality

  using data from governmental registers

  5 years follow up

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• General measurements

  1 year follow up, 3 years follow up, 5 years follow up

• Epigenetics

  1 year follow up, 3 years follow up, 5 years follow up

• Morbidity

  3 and 5 years

• Mortality and Morbidity

  10 years

Other Outcomes (1)

• Cognitive screening

  1 year follow up, 3 years follow up, 5 years follow ut

Study Arms (2)

high intensity aerobic training

EXPERIMENTAL

Exercise intervention: High intensity group performing high intensity training where they are required to raise their heart rate several times during the workout and reach perceived exhaustion of 16 on a Borg scale

Other: Exercise intervention

Moderate intensity training

OTHER

Exercise intervention: Moderate intensity Group of people asked to perform moderate training where they exercise at a given intensity (moderate as per Borg scale) for a certain amount of time

Other: Exercise intervention

Interventions

Exercise intervention OTHER

Group asked to perform exercise at a given moderate intensity for a set time

Also known as: Moderate training

Moderate intensity training; high intensity aerobic training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 70 Years - 76 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Born in 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941 or 1942
• Able to complete the exercise program (determined by the researchers).

You may not qualify if:

• Illness or disabilities that preclude exercise or hinder completion of the study
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Symptomatic valvular, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, unstable angina, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and severe arrhythmia
• Diagnosed dementia
• Cancer that makes participation impossible or exercise contraindicated. Considered individually, in consultation with the attending physician.
• Chronic communicable infectious diseases.
• Test results indicating that study participation is unsafe
• Participation in other studies conflicting with participation in Generation 100

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology: lead

Study Sites (1)

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Trondheim, 7006, Norway

Location

Related Publications (11)

• Stensvold D, Viken H, Rognmo O, Skogvoll E, Steinshamn S, Vatten LJ, Coombes JS, Anderssen SA, Magnussen J, Ingebrigtsen JE, Fiatarone Singh MA, Langhammer A, Stoylen A, Helbostad JL, Wisloff U. A randomised controlled study of the long-term effects of exercise training on mortality in elderly people: study protocol for the Generation 100 study. BMJ Open. 2015 Feb 12;5(2):e007519. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007519.

  PMID: 25678546 BACKGROUND

• Viken H, Reitlo LS, Zisko N, Nauman J, Aspvik NP, Ingebrigtsen JE, Wisloff U, Stensvold D. Predictors of Dropout in Exercise Trials in Older Adults: The Generation 100 Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jan;51(1):49-55. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001742.

  PMID: 30113524 BACKGROUND

• Stensvold D, Viken H, Steinshamn SL, Dalen H, Stoylen A, Loennechen JP, Reitlo LS, Zisko N, Baekkerud FH, Tari AR, Sandbakk SB, Carlsen T, Ingebrigtsen JE, Lydersen S, Mattsson E, Anderssen SA, Fiatarone Singh MA, Coombes JS, Skogvoll E, Vatten LJ, Helbostad JL, Rognmo O, Wisloff U. Effect of exercise training for five years on all cause mortality in older adults-the Generation 100 study: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2020 Oct 7;371:m3485. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3485.

  PMID: 33028588 RESULT

• Letnes JM, Berglund I, Johnson KE, Dalen H, Nes BM, Lydersen S, Viken H, Hassel E, Steinshamn S, Vesterbekkmo EK, Stoylen A, Reitlo LS, Zisko N, Baekkerud FH, Tari AR, Ingebrigtsen JE, Sandbakk SB, Carlsen T, Anderssen SA, Singh MAF, Coombes JS, Helbostad JL, Rognmo O, Wisloff U, Stensvold D. Effect of 5 years of exercise training on the cardiovascular risk profile of older adults: the Generation 100 randomized trial. Eur Heart J. 2022 Jun 1;43(21):2065-2075. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab721.

  PMID: 34746955 RESULT

• Bakken J, Brissach DE, Ingestrom EML, Midttun S, Walker TL, Stensvold D, Tari AR. Effects of 5-Year Exercise Training on Cognition in Older Adults: 10-Years Follow-Up from the Generation 100 Study. Sports Med Open. 2025 Dec 7;11(1):153. doi: 10.1186/s40798-025-00956-0.

  PMID: 41354893 DERIVED

• Hallan SI, Ovrehus MA, Shlipak MG, Potok OA, Romundstad S, Aspvik NP, Wisloff U, Ix JH, Stensvold D, Langlo KA. Long-Term Physical Exercise for Preventing CKD in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2025 Feb 11;36(7):1352-1362. doi: 10.1681/ASN.0000000636.

  PMID: 39932787 DERIVED

• Tari AR, Brissach DE, Ingestrom EML, Nauman J, Tyrell T, Foster C, Radtke K, Porcari JP, Lydersen S, Kaminsky LA, Myers J, Walker TL, Coombes JS, Stensvold D, Wisloff U. Survival of the fittest? Peak oxygen uptake and all-cause mortality among older adults in Norway. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2025 Mar-Apr;89:25-34. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2024.11.004. Epub 2024 Dec 4.

  PMID: 39638222 DERIVED

• Reitlo LS, Mihailovic JM, Stensvold D, Wisloff U, Hyder F, Haberg AK. Hippocampal neurochemicals are associated with exercise group and intensity, psychological health, and general cognition in older adults. Geroscience. 2023 Jun;45(3):1667-1685. doi: 10.1007/s11357-022-00719-9. Epub 2023 Jan 10.

  PMID: 36626020 DERIVED

• Zotcheva E, Haberg AK, Wisloff U, Salvesen O, Selbaek G, Stensvold D, Ernstsen L. Effects of 5 Years Aerobic Exercise on Cognition in Older Adults: The Generation 100 Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sports Med. 2022 Jul;52(7):1689-1699. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01608-5. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

  PMID: 34878637 DERIVED

• Sokolowski DR, Hansen TI, Rise HH, Reitlo LS, Wisloff U, Stensvold D, Haberg AK. 5 Years of Exercise Intervention Did Not Benefit Cognition Compared to the Physical Activity Guidelines in Older Adults, but Higher Cardiorespiratory Fitness Did. A Generation 100 Substudy. Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Nov 16;13:742587. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.742587. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 34867275 DERIVED

• Berglund I, Vesterbekkmo EK, Retterstol K, Anderssen SA, Fiatarone Singh MA, Helge JW, Lydersen S, Wisloff U, Stensvold D. The Long-term Effect of Different Exercise Intensities on High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Older Men and Women Using the Per Protocol Approach: The Generation 100 Study. Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2021 Sep 16;5(5):859-871. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2021.07.002. eCollection 2021 Oct.

  PMID: 34585083 DERIVED

Related Links

• Generation 100 web page
• Results published in BMJ Oct 2020

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Ulrik Wisløff, Professor

  Norwegian University of Science and Technology

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2012
• First Posted: August 16, 2012
• Study Start: August 21, 2012
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Last Updated: September 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations

NO (1)