Physical fitness and frailty status of frail older adults in long-term care facilities after acupunch exercises: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

Chia-Pei Chou; Kuei-Min Chen; Hsiao-Ting Tung; Frank Belcastro; Hui-Fen Hsu

doi:10.1016/j.exger.2022.111799

Physical fitness and frailty status of frail older adults in long-term care facilities after acupunch exercises: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

Exp Gerontol. 2022 Jun 15:163:111799. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111799. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Authors

Chia-Pei Chou¹, Kuei-Min Chen², Hsiao-Ting Tung³, Frank Belcastro⁴, Hui-Fen Hsu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 123 Dapi Rd., Niaosong District, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan. Electronic address: libra760924@cgmh.org.tw.
² College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shih-Chuan 1(st) Rd., Sanmin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Center for Long-term Care Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Taiwan. Electronic address: kmc@kmu.edu.tw.
³ Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, 2 Zhongzheng 1st Rd., Lingya District, Kaohsiung 80284, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Education and Psychology, University of Dubuque, 2000 University Ave., Dubuque, Iowa 52001, USA.
⁵ Center for Long-term Care Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shih-Chuan 1(st) Rd., Sanmin District, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan. Electronic address: R080152@kmu.edu.tw.

PMID: 35390490
DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111799

Abstract

Background: Frailty is a complex geriatric syndrome and serves as an indicator for functional degradation in older adults. Regular exercise intervention could reduce the level of frailty and improve general physical fitness. The aim of this study was to test the effects of the Vitality Acupunch (VA) exercise on the promotion of physical fitness and the improvement of frailty status among frail older adults in long-term care facilities.

Method: This study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial adopted a pretest-posttest design. Using convenience sampling, 81 frail adults older than 65 years of age from 10 long-term care facilities participated in this study. The older adults were cluster-randomized by facility into an intervention group (5 long-term care facilities, n = 40) and a control group (5 long-term care facilities, n = 41). The intervention group engaged in the VA exercise 3 times a week, each lasting 40 min, for 24 weeks. The control group maintained regular activities of daily living. The outcome measures for physical fitness were assessed before study began (pretest), at the 12th week (posttest 1), and at the 24th week (posttest 2) in the study.

Results: After a 24-week intervention, the frail older adults who engaged in the VA exercise program showed significant improvements in handgrip strength, upper-limb muscle endurance, lung function, shoulder flexibility, forward flexion, shoulder joint flexion, and shoulder joint abduction (all p < 0.05) but not in lower-limb muscle endurance (p = 0.502) compared against their pretest data. The intervention group had significantly better physical fitness and positive changes in frailty status than the control group (all p < 0.001), except for the lower-limb muscle endurance (p = 0.557).

Conclusion: Regular engagement in the VA exercise program for 24 weeks significantly improved the physical fitness and frailty status of frail older adults in long-term care facilities.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04481438.

Keywords: Acupunch exercise; Frailty; Long-term care facilities; Older adults; Physical fitness.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Exercise Therapy
Frail Elderly*
Frailty* / therapy
Hand Strength
Humans
Long-Term Care
Physical Fitness

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04481438