Internal Med Medical News about high-intensity functional exercise program; activities of daily living

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The Effect of a High-Intensity Functional Exercise Program on Activities of Daily Living: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Residential Care Facilities
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 08/24/09

Littbrand H et al. – A high–intensity functional weight–bearing exercise program seems to reduce ADL decline related to indoor mobility for older people living in residential care facilities. The program does not appear to have an overall effect on ADLs. In people with dementia, the exercise program may prevent decline in overall ADL performance, but continuous training may be needed to maintain that effect.

Methods

Randomized, controlled trial.
Participants: 191 older people dependent in ADLs and with a Mini–Mental State Examination score of 10 or greater. 100 (52.4%) of the participants had dementia.
A high–intensity functional weight–bearing exercise program or a control activity consisting of 29 sessions over 3 months.

Results

There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding overall daily living (ADLs) performance.
Analyses for each item revealed that a smaller proportion of participants in the exercise group had deteriorated in indoor mobility at 3 months (exercise 3.5% vs control 16.0%, P=.01) and 6 months (7.7% vs 19.8%, P=.03).
For people with dementia, there was a significant difference in overall ADL performance in favor of the exercise group at 3 months (mean difference 1.1, P=.03) but not at 6 months.