HIIT, Steroid Hormones and Mental Health in Adolescents

NCT07311460 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: HIIT-ADO-Stroid-H
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 28
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of study was to investigate the effect of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), hormonal, and mental health markers in male adolescents. The main question it aims to answer is: Does HIIT improve CRF, hormonal (testosterone and cortisol levels, testosterone:cortisol ratio), and mental health (depression, anxiety and stress scores) markers. Researchers will compare HIIT (designed to experimental group) to non-training intervention (designed to control group) to see if the training program works to improve the health status. HIIT consisted of three sessions per week for 10 weeks, comprising of three sets of four to eight bouts of 30-s runs at high intensity \[100-110% of maximal aerobic speed (MAS)\], interspersed with 30-s recovery runs at low intensity (50% of MAS) between bouts.

Conditions

Hormone

Keywords

adolescences; hormones; training period; mental health; physical performance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Testosterone

  Testosterone concentration, expressed in nmol/L, was analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (Monobind, Inc., Lake Forest, CA).

  One day before the start and two days after the completion of the 10 weeks of training program.

• Cortisol

  Cortisol concentration, expressed in nmol/L, was analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (Monobind, Inc., Lake Forest, CA).

  One day before the start and two days after the completion of the 10 weeks of training program.

• The testosterone/cortisol ratio

  The testosterone/cortisol ratio (T/C) was calculated by dividing the testosterone value by the cortisol value for each participant.

  One day before the start and two days after the completion of the 10 weeks of training program.

• Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21 items (DASS-21)

  The DASS-21 is a self-report questionnaire that assesses symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (Lai et al., 2015). Each item is scored from 0 to 3, yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 63. Higher scores indicate worse psychological symptoms (greater levels of depression, anxiety, or stress). In the present study, we used the Arabic version of the DASS-21, which has been validated and shown to have good psychometric properties (Moussa et al., 2017), to ensure linguistic and cultural appropriateness for assessing adolescents' psychological well-being.

  Before the start and after the completion of the 10 weeks of training program.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Maximal aerobic speed

  Before and after the 10 weeks of the training program.

• Maximal oxygen consumption

  Before and after the 10 weeks of the training program.

Study Arms (2)

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) group

EXPERIMENTAL

The HIIT group performed a HIIT program consisting of three sessions per week for 10 weeks, including three sets of four to eight bouts of 30-second runs at high intensity (100-110% of maximal aerobic speed, MAS), interspersed with 30-second recovery runs at low intensity (50% MAS) between bouts.

Behavioral: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) program

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

The participants in the control group maintained their normal daily activities.

Interventions

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) program BEHAVIORAL

The HIIT program consisted of three sessions per week for 10 weeks, comprising of three sets of four to eight bouts of 30-s runs at high intensity \[100-110% of maximal aerobic speed (MAS)\], interspersed with 30-s recovery runs at low intensity (50% MAS) between bouts.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Years - 16 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• male sex,
• age 14 to 16 years,
• normal weight according to the WHO child growth standards for BMI (BMI ≤ 85th percentile)
• parental approval.

You may not qualify if:

• medical conditions contraindicating intense physical exercise
• non-compliance with the training program
• habitual physical activity exceeding school physical education lessons
• current or recent (within 3 months) dietary supplementation or restriction
• incomplete data.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Kef: lead

Study Sites (1)

Tunisia

El Kef, Boulifa, 7100, Tunisia

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Interventions

High-Intensity Interval Training

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Nejmeddine Ouerghi, Ph.D

  Research Unit "Sport Sciences, Health and Movement"(UR22JS01) High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, 7100 Kef, Tunisia.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 20, 2025
• First Posted: December 31, 2025
• Study Start: November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: January 25, 2025
• Study Completion: January 25, 2025
• Last Updated: December 31, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)