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The effect of functional circuit training on self-reported fear of falling and health status in a group of physically frail older individuals: a randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Background and aim

Physical frailty has been regarded as a precursor state to disability and dependence on others for daily activities. Frail individuals are considered to be the group of patients that presents the most complex and challenging problems to health care professionals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a 12-week functional circuit training program (FCT) could reduce self-reported fear of falling and improve health status in a group of physically frail community-dwelling older individuals.

Methods

Fifty-one individuals (31 F, 20 M), mean age (SD) 84 (2.9) years old, were considered frail and tested at week 0 and randomly assigned into two groups (intervention group, FCT = 26; control group, CG = 25). FCT underwent a structured 12-week FCT program, which focused on a combination of functional balance and lower-body strength-based exercises. CG met once a week for health education meetings. Measures of self-reported fear of falling (Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale) and health status (SF-12) were assessed at week 0, 12 and 36. All longitudinal analyses for continuous variables that were measured at the three time points (week 0, 12 and 36) were performed using linear mixed modeling.

Results

FCT participants had greater improvements than those in the CG in fear of falling and self-reported physical function, physical composite score and mental composite score; these improvements were maintained in the week 36 follow-up, with significant group-by-time interactions by the end of the study.

Conclusions

These data indicate that a FCT program is effective in improving self-reported measures of fear of falling and health status in a group of physically frail individuals.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research award from the IDIAP Jordi Gol, Primary Healthcare Research Institution, Barcelona, Spain. The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. Greg Atkinson of the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science (Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK) for the statistics assistance. We thank the FPCEE Blanquerna (Ramon Llull University) for its collaboration.

Conflict of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, FPCEE Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull, C/Císter 34, 08022, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Giné-Garriga & Míriam Guerra

  2. Department of Physical Therapy, FCS Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Giné-Garriga

  3. Faculty of Health, Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK

    Viswanath B. Unnithan

Authors
  1. Maria Giné-Garriga
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  2. Míriam Guerra
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  3. Viswanath B. Unnithan
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Correspondence to Maria Giné-Garriga.

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Giné-Garriga, M., Guerra, M. & Unnithan, V.B. The effect of functional circuit training on self-reported fear of falling and health status in a group of physically frail older individuals: a randomized controlled trial. Aging Clin Exp Res 25, 329–336 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-013-0048-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-013-0048-3

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