Effect of Multicomponent Intervention on Functional Decline in Chinese Older Adults: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To confirm whether multicomponent exercise following vivifrail recommendations was an effective method for improving physical ability, cognitive function, gait, balance, and muscle strength in Chinese older adults. METHODS: This was a multicenter and randomized clinical trial conducted in Jiangsu, China, from April 2021 to April 2022. Intervention lasted for 12 weeks and 104 older adults with functional declines were enrolled. All participants were randomly assigned to a control (usual care plus health education) or exercise group (usual care plus health education plus exercise). Primary outcomes were the change score of Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and activities of daily living (ADL). The secondary outcomes included instrumental activities of daily living, Tinetti scores, Frailty score, short-form Mini Nutritional Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale-15, the 12-item Short Form Survey, 4-meter gait speed test, 6-min walking distance, grip strength, and body composition analysis. RESULTS: Among the participants, the average age was 85 (82, 88) years. After 12 weeks of follow-up, the exercise group showed a significant improvement in SPPB, with a change of 2 points (95% confidence interval [0, 3.5], P<0.001) compared to control. In contrast, SPPB remained stable in the control group. Compared to the control group, ADL improved in the exercise group, as did instrumental activities of daily living, Tinetti, Frailty, Short Form Survey, 4-meter gait speed test, and 6-min walking distance. Although there was no significant difference between groups in body composition analysis after post-intervention, the exercise group still improved in soft lean mass (P=0.002), fat-free mass (P=0.002), skeletal muscle mass index (P<0.001), fat-free mass index (P=0.004), appendicular skeletal muscle mass (P<0.001), and leg muscle mass (P<0.001), while the control group had no significant increase. No difference was observed in adverse events during trial period. CONCLUSIONS: The multicomponent exercise intervention following vivifrail recommendations is an effective method for older adults with functional decline and can reverse the functional decline and improve gait, balance, and muscle strength. Additionally, the 12-week multicomponent exercise method provides guidance for Chinese medical professionals working in the field of geriatrics and is a promising method to improve physical function in the general population.

The effect of music on hypertensive patients.

The aim of this study is to examine if, and to what extent, daily listening to a certain type of music can help hypertensive patients lower their blood pressure (BP). Experiments were conducted at an elderly home. Thirty subjects aged 63-93 years participated in the study and were randomly assigned into either a music group (n=15) or a control group (n=15). There were no significant differences between the two groups in initial BP values, age, gender, or medication status. Subjects in the music group listened to selected music, 25 min every day for 4 weeks. BP was measured twice a week by a registered nurse with a sphygmomanometer during the 4-week study period and after the completion of the study. Four subjects dropped from the experiment due to a change of medical conditions or to personal reasons. After 4 weeks, the average decrease for the music group (n=12) in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) was 11.8 mmHg (p=0.008) and 4.7 mmHg (p=0.218), respectively, whereas there was no significant changes in SBP or DBP for the control group (n=14). The results suggest that listening to a certain type of music serves to reduce high SBP and therefore music therapy may be an alterative for hypertension treatment.