TY - JOUR
T1 - Feasibility, safety and preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of a home-based exercise programme for older people with Alzheimer's disease
T2 - A pilot randomized controlled trial
AU - Suttanon, Plaiwan
AU - Hill, Keith D.
AU - Said, Catherine M.
AU - Williams, Susan B.
AU - Byrne, Karin N.
AU - Logiudice, Dina
AU - Lautenschlager, Nicola T.
AU - Dodd, Karen J.
PY - 2013/5/6
Y1 - 2013/5/6
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of a home-based exercise programme for people with Alzheimer's disease, and to provide preliminary evidence of programme effectiveness in improving balance and mobility and reducing falls risk. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Setting: Community. Participants: Forty people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (mean age 81.9, SD 5.72; 62.5% female). Interventions: Participants were randomized to a six-month home-based individually tailored balance, strengthening and walking exercise programme (physiotherapist) or a six-month home-based education programme (control) (occupational therapist). Both programmes provided six home-visits and five follow-up phone calls. Main measures: Balance, mobility, falls and falls risk were measured at baseline and programme completion. Intention-to-treat analysis using a generalized linear model with group allocation as a predictor variable was performed to evaluate programme effectiveness. Feasibility and adverse events were systematically recorded at each contact. Results: Fifty-eight per cent of the exercise group finished the programme, completing an average of 83% of prescribed sessions, with no adverse events reported. Functional Reach improved significantly (P = 0.002) in the exercise group (mean (SD), 2.28 (4.36)) compared to the control group (-2.99 (4.87)). Significant improvement was also observed for the Falls Risk for Older People - Community score (P = 0.008) and trends for improvement on several other balance, mobility, falls and falls risk measures for the exercise group compared to the control group. Conclusions: The exercise programme was feasible and safe and may help improve balance and mobility performance and reduce falls risk in people with Alzheimer's disease.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of a home-based exercise programme for people with Alzheimer's disease, and to provide preliminary evidence of programme effectiveness in improving balance and mobility and reducing falls risk. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Setting: Community. Participants: Forty people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (mean age 81.9, SD 5.72; 62.5% female). Interventions: Participants were randomized to a six-month home-based individually tailored balance, strengthening and walking exercise programme (physiotherapist) or a six-month home-based education programme (control) (occupational therapist). Both programmes provided six home-visits and five follow-up phone calls. Main measures: Balance, mobility, falls and falls risk were measured at baseline and programme completion. Intention-to-treat analysis using a generalized linear model with group allocation as a predictor variable was performed to evaluate programme effectiveness. Feasibility and adverse events were systematically recorded at each contact. Results: Fifty-eight per cent of the exercise group finished the programme, completing an average of 83% of prescribed sessions, with no adverse events reported. Functional Reach improved significantly (P = 0.002) in the exercise group (mean (SD), 2.28 (4.36)) compared to the control group (-2.99 (4.87)). Significant improvement was also observed for the Falls Risk for Older People - Community score (P = 0.008) and trends for improvement on several other balance, mobility, falls and falls risk measures for the exercise group compared to the control group. Conclusions: The exercise programme was feasible and safe and may help improve balance and mobility performance and reduce falls risk in people with Alzheimer's disease.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - Balance and strengthening exercise
KW - falls risk
KW - randomized controlled trial
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876893429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0269215512460877
DO - 10.1177/0269215512460877
M3 - Article
C2 - 23117349
AN - SCOPUS:84876893429
SN - 0269-2155
VL - 27
SP - 427
EP - 438
JO - Clinical Rehabilitation
JF - Clinical Rehabilitation
IS - 5
ER -