The effect of a multi-component exercise training program on improving the severity of frailty and physical function of the elderly / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To establish a multi-component exercise intervention program for the elderly with frailty, assess its effectiveness on improving the severity of frailty, and examine the effects of different intervention modes.Methods:174 elderly people in a community in Beijing were randomly divided into three groups.The control group did not receive special intervention.The health education group received lectures, demonstrations and pamphlets on basic knowledge about frailty and instructions about a multi-component sports program.The multi-component exercise training program group was trained for three months via regular videos delivered through a WeChat app.The severity of frailty and exercise adherence of subjects in the three groups were compared.Results:166 subjects completed the study.Frailty phenotype(FP)scores of the health education group and the WeChat app group were lower than those at baseline( P<0.05).After intervention, FP scores of the control group, the health education group and the WeChat app group were 1(1, 2), 1(0, 1)and 1(0, 1), respectively, and there were differences among the three groups after intervention( H=15.539, P<0.05).There were 10 subjects(17.2%)in the control group, 15(25.9%)in the health education group and 28(48.3%)in the WeChat app group who experienced reversal from frailty or pre-frailty to no frailty( χ2=12.770, P=0.002).The number of people who reversed to no frailty in the WeChat app group was higher than in the control group( χ2=11.536, P=0.001)and the health education group( χ2=5.659, P=0.014).The numbers of people with frailty in the control group, health education group and WeChat app group were 9(15.5%), 1(1.7%)and 1(1.7%), respectively( χ2=13.040, P=0.001), with the numbers of frailty cases in the health education group and the WeChat app group lower than in the control group( χ2=7.552, 7.210, P=0.006, 0.007).The percentage of people completing the exercise program in the WeChat app group was higher than in the control group( χ2=49.366, P<0.001)and also in the health education group( χ2=26.481, P<0.001), while the percentage of people completing the exercise program in the health education group was higher than in the control group( χ2=6.171, P=0.013). Conclusions:The multi-component exercise program can improve the frailty state of the elderly, and the intervention method based on the WeChat app has clear advantages in improving frailty and enhancing exercise adherence.