The Study
Impact of CoQ10 supplementation on metabolic adaptations to HIIT in older adults: focus on glycemic control, insulin resistance, lipid profile, and liver enzyme
This study gave some older people CoQ10 pills and others fake pills, then had everyone do intense exercise. The people who took CoQ10 had slightly better blood test results, but we don’t know if that’s because of the pill or because they tried harder or were measured differently. So we can say CoQ10 might help, but we can’t say for sure.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Older adults did intense exercise three times a week. Some took a CoQ10 pill daily, others took a fake pill. Both groups got healthier, but the pill group got even better at managing sugar and fat in their blood.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — better insulin control and lower bad cholesterol mean reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease in older adults.
- 2CoQ10 + exercise lowered insulin and HOMA-IR more than exercise alone; also lowered total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol more than exercise alone.
- 3No change in liver enzymes.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Sport Sciences for Health
Year
2026
Authors
Navid Bagheri, Mehdi Kargarfard
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking 100 mg of Coenzyme Q10 daily for eight weeks does not change the levels of ALT or AST liver enzymes in healthy older adults who do high-intensity interval training.
Among healthy adults aged 65 to 75, combining high-intensity interval training with CoQ10 supplements leads to larger decreases in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides than high-intensity interval training by itself.
In healthy adults aged 65 to 75, combining high-intensity interval training with CoQ10 supplements lowers insulin resistance more than doing high-intensity interval training alone.
In healthy adults aged 65 to 75, taking 100 mg of CoQ10 daily along with eight weeks of high-intensity interval training three times per week leads to greater improvements in insulin sensitivity and blood lipid levels than high-intensity interval training alone.
In healthy adults aged 65 to 75, performing high-intensity interval training three times a week for eight weeks lowers fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR levels and improves lipid profile, but does not lower ALT and AST liver enzyme levels.
In older adults, taking antioxidant supplements alongside exercise leads to greater improvements in health outcomes than exercise alone, due to a reduction in oxidative stress caused by aging.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.