# The impact of a resistance training intervention on blood pressure control in older adults with Sarcopenia

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2023 · $13,585

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The overall goal of the K01 will be to gain mentored career development to enhance Dr. Laddu's ability to become
an independent researcher in chronic disease prevention with a focus on developing pragmatic and scalable
interventions to lower or control blood pressure (BP) by preventing highly prevalent aging conditions (i.e.,
sarcopenia and hypertension). The knowledge and experience acquired through (1) clinical trial design and
conduct, and (2) behavioral health promotion intervention conduct, including qualitative and quantitative
methodologies, will make Dr. Laddu well-equipped to design multifactorial interventions that target behavioral
risk factors and influence health status. This premise of this K01 proposal is to address current gaps in the
literature regarding the understanding of high BP due to sarcopenia, and provide new evidence for the
discernable relationship between low muscle strength and BP in sarcopenia, and effective non-pharmaceutical
treatment approaches. In the most scientifically rigorous manner, Dr. Laddu will evaluate the feasibility of
recruitment, retention, implementation and adherence to an empirically-based progressive resistance training
(PRT) intervention to test its effect on BP in a targeted population of older adults with sarcopenia who are
randomized (via block permuted scheme) to the PRT intervention. Built within this randomized control
intervention design, Dr. Laddu will further explore reversibility to examine whether muscle strength serves as
an intervention target for BP control in sarcopenic adults, which will be more appropriately tested in subsequently
well-powered R-level intervention studies. Physiologically plausible mechanisms by which the PRT impacts
changes in BP will also be explored through learned techniques by her mentor. Through this practical experience,
Dr. Laddu will acquire insights relative to the intra- and inter-personal behaviors and barriers associated with
physical activity and health promotion, and learn how to promote actionable, and scalable lifestyle and behavior
strategies that are applicable to and older, high-risk population. Experience will be complemented with cross-
disciplinary training which will be accomplished through an integrated career development plan that consists of
formal coursework and seminars, guidance from her highly skilled senior mentors and guaranteed protected time
to gain practical research experience, and leverages the rich environment for research with older adults at the
University of Illinois at Chicago. The training and skills acquired through the K01 career development application
will strengthen her research trajectory in health promotion and successfully transition to a fully independent
investigator. Importantly, this K01 will set the foundation for Dr. Laddu to build a research portfolio focused on
identifying solutions that inform current health care guidelines on effective and practical solutions for the
preventio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10683767
- **Project number:** 5K01HL148503-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Deepika Laddu
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $13,585
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2023-08-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10683767

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10683767, The impact of a resistance training intervention on blood pressure control in older adults with Sarcopenia (5K01HL148503-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10683767. Licensed CC0.

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