Table 5.

Evaluation of aerobic capacity in the 2 groups of patients with AS at different times. Values are mean (SD) unless otherwise specified.

Variables	Intervention Group, n = 35			Control Group, n = 35			p Intragroup	p Intragroup
Variables	T0	T12	p Intragroup	T0	T12	p Intragroup	p Intragroup	p Intragroup
VO₂ peak absolute, l/min	2.18 (0.65)	2.34 (0.66)	0.002	2.10 (0.60)	2.03 (0.63)	0.143	0.001	0.049^**
VO₂ peak relative, ml/kg/min	30.08 (6.99)	32.32 (7.20)	0.005	30.89 (6.08)	29.83 (6.63)	0.127	0.002	0.137^**
Anaerobic threshold, absolute, l/min	1.36 (0.35)	1.52 (0.43)	0.003	1.38 (0.41)	1.39 (0.50)	0.879	0.045	0.261^**
Anaerobic threshold, relative, ml/kg/min	19.08 (4.01)	21.29 (5.08)	0.003	20.59 (4.73)	20.51 (5.93)	0.917	0.033	0.558^**
Anaerobic threshold, % of VO₂ peak	63.9 (9.3)	66.3 (10.9)	0.238	66.8 (11.9)	68.6 (12.8)	0.238	0.238	0.208^*
Maximum speed, km/h	9.1 (1.8)	9.7 (2.1)	< 0.001	9.0 (1.8)	9.1 (1.6)	0.768	0.025	0.139^**
Anaerobic threshold speed, km/h	5.5 (1.1)	6.0 (1.2)	0.043	5.5 (1.2)	5.6 (1.2)	0.043	0.236	0.532^*
HR maximum, bpm	167.4 (19.1)	170.3 (17.6)	0.142	170.9 (19.9)	172.2 (20.9)	0.142	0.576	0.554^*
HR, anaerobic threshold, bpm	125.5 (14.9)	133.1 (19.9)	0.028	133.2 (19.3)	135.1 (20.5)	0.028	0.182	0.226^*
Peak O₂ pulse, ml/bpm	12.9 (3.3)	13.7 (3.8)	0.028	12.4 (3.4)	11.9 (3.4)	0.024	0.002	0.038

↵* ANOVA test.
↵** Student t test comparing the groups in T12.
Bold face indicates a difference between the behavior patterns of variables of the 2 groups. AS: ankylosing spondylitis; T0: baseline assessment before randomization; T12: assessment 12 weeks after the start of the program; HR: heart rate.