Blood proteins predict physical rehab gains in older adults
Baseline protein profiles stratified 12-week physical gains from rehabilitation over control, spanning 10 to 85 meters on the six-minute walk test.
medRxiv
In a preprint analyzing 243 hospitalized adults aged 60 and older with heart failure from the REHAB-HF trial, baseline blood proteins predicted physical recovery after exercise rehabilitation. Participants completed either a 12-week tailored, multidomain physical rehabilitation program or usual-care attention control. Researchers profiled 92 cardiovascular and inflammatory proteins at baseline and 12 weeks.
Baseline levels of GP6 and ST2 modified improvements in the Short Physical Performance Battery, revealing differential 12-week score gains for rehabilitation versus control ranging from -0.8 to 2.1 points. Baseline ALCAM stratified gains in six-minute walk distance, with differential improvements ranging from 10 meters to 85 meters. However, 12-week changes in these circulating proteins did not mediate the functional improvements.
Why it matters
Physical vulnerability and functional decline frequently accompany cardiovascular aging and geriatric syndromes. Identifying biomarkers that predict heterogeneous responses to physical training may help guide targeted rehabilitation strategies for frail older populations.
Caveats
This work is a preprint and represents a secondary analysis limited to 243 trial participants with available blood samples. In addition, the identified biomarker proteins were not causal mediators of the functional benefits observed during rehabilitation.
The paper
Cleveland Clinic · University of Maryland, Baltimore
medRxiv · 23 Sep 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed
