Intense Tai Chi Exercise Training and Fall Occurrences in Older, Transitionally Frail Adults: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Autor: Michael Kutner, Robert J. Gregor, Steven L. Wolf, Richard W. Sattin, Michael O'Grady, Arlene I. Greenspan
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 51:1693-1701
ISSN: 1532-5415
0002-8614
DOI: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51552.x
Popis: OBJECTIVES: To determine whether an intense tai chi (TC) exercise program could reduce the risk of falls more than a wellness education (WE) program in older adults meeting criteria for transitioning to frailty. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial of 48 weeks duration. SETTING: Twenty congregate living facilities in the greater Atlanta area. PARTICIPANTS: Sample of 291 women and 20 men aged 70 to 97. MEASUREMENTS: Demographics, time to first fall and all subsequent falls, functional measures, Sickness Impact Profile, Centers for Epidemiologic StudiesFDepression Scale, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, Falls Efficacy Scales, and adherence to interventions. RESULTS: The risk ratio (RR) of falling was not statistically different in the TC group and the WE group (RR 50.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) 50.52‐1.08), P 5.13). Over the 48 weeks of intervention, 46% (n 5132) of the participants did not fall; the percentage of participants that fell at least once was 47.6% for the TC group and 60.3% for the WE group. CONCLUSION: TC did not reduce the RR of falling in transitionally frail, older adults, but the direction of effect observed in this study, together with positive findings seen previously in more-robust older adults, suggests that TC may be clinically important and should be evaluated further in this high-risk population. J Am Geriatr Soc 51:1693– 1701, 2003.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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