title: Effect of combined aerobic and resistance training versus aerobic training on arterial stiffness.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While aerobic exercise training may decrease arterial stiffness, the impact of combined aerobic and resistance training is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically review and quantify the effect of combined aerobic and resistance training on arterial stiffness, as determined by arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV), and compare it with aerobic training.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched through November 2013 for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of aerobic or combined aerobic and resistance training on PWV. A meta-analysis was performed to determine the standardized mean difference (SMD) in PWV between exercise and control groups. Subgroup analyses were used to study potential moderating factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one randomized controlled trials comparing exercise and control groups (overall n=752), met the inclusion criteria. After data pooling, PWV was decreased in aerobic trained groups compared with controls (10 trials, SMD=-0.52, 95% CI= -0.76, -0.27; P<0.0001) but did not reach statistical significance in combined trained groups compared with controls (11 trials, SMD=-0.23, 95% CI=-0.50, 0.04; P=0.10). The effect in aerobic trained groups did not differ compared with combined trained groups (P=0.12). In addition, aerobic training resulted in significantly lower SMD in PWV compared with combined training in interventions including a higher volume of aerobic training or assessing carotid-femoral PWV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that combined aerobic and resistance training interventions may have reduced beneficial effects on arterial stiffness compared with control interventions, but do not appear to differ significantly with aerobic training alone.
authors.affiliation: Avignon University, LAPEC EA4278, F-84000 Avignon, France; Department of Internal Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: david.montero.barril@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.affiliation: Avignon University, LAPEC EA4278, F-84000 Avignon, France.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vinet
authors.affiliation: Exercise Physiology and Metabolic Disease Research Laboratory, Translational Sciences Section, School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Christian K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Aerobic exercise training; Arterial stiffness; Combined exercise training