Resumen de Effect of Structured Physical Activity on Respiratory Outcomes in Sedentary Elderly Adults with Mobility Limitations

Carlos A. Vaz Fragoso, Daniel P. Beavers, Stephen D. Anton, Christine K. Liu, Mary M. McDermott, Anne B. Newman, Marco Pahor, Randall S. Stafford, Thomas M. Gill

• Objectives To evaluate the effect of structured physical activity on respiratory outcomes in community-dwelling elderly adults with mobility limitations.

  Design Multicenter, randomized trial of physical activity vs health education, with respiratory variables prespecified as tertiary outcomes over an intervention period of 24–42 months. Physical activity included walking (goal of 150 min/week) and strength, flexibility, and balance training. Health education included workshops on topics relevant to older adults and upper extremity stretching exercises.

  Setting Lifestyle Interventions and Independence in Elders (LIFE) Study.

  Participants Community-dwelling persons aged 70–89 with Short Physical Performance Battery scores less than 10 (N = 1,635).

  Measurements Conclusion In older persons with mobility limitations, physical activity was associated with higher likelihood of respiratory hospitalization than health education, but differences in dyspnea severity, FEV1, and MIP did not accompany this effect—indicating that higher hospital use could be attributable to greater participant contact.