Exercise Frequency, Health Risk Factors, and Diseases of the Elderly

Objective: To determine the effect of exercise frequency on various diseases and risk factors of the elderly. Design: Retrospective analysis of a randomized controlled 18-month exercise trial. Setting: University ambulatory group setting. Participants: Community-dwelling women aged >= 65 years (N=162) in the area of Northern Bavaria. Intervention: Mixed, intense aerobic, resistance, and balance protocol for 18 months. Subjects were retrospectively subdivided into 2 groups according to their effective attendance over 18 months (>1-<2 vs >= 2-4 sessions/wk). Main Outcome Measures: Bone mineral density (BMD), lean body mass, appendicular skeletal muscle mass by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, Framingham study-based 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, and number of falls by calendar method. Results: Significant differences between the low-frequency exercise group (LF-EG) and the high-frequency exercise group (HF-HG) were observed for lumbar spine BMD (HF-HG, 2.4%+/- 2.8% vs LF-EG, 0.3%+/- 2.2%; P<.001) and proximal femur BMD (HF-HG, 2.4%+/- 2.8% vs LF-EG, -0.5%+/- 1.6%; P=.014), lean body mass (1.6%+/- 3.4% vs 0.3%+/- 2.6%, P=.053), and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (0.9%+/- 4.5% vs -1.3%+/- 3.2%, P=.011). No differences between both exercise groups were observed for 10-year CHD risk (-1.94%+/- 4.14% vs -2.00%+/- 3.13%; P=.943) and number of falls (0.95 +/- 1.36 vs 1.03 +/- 1.21 falls/person). Comparing the LF-EG with the less active control group (n=47), only nonsignificant effects for fall number (P=.065) and 10-year CHD risk (P=.178) were evaluated. Conclusions: Although this result might not be generalizable across all exercise types and cohorts, it indicates that an overall exercise frequency of at least 2 sessions/wk may be crucial for impacting bone and muscle mass of elderly subjects. (C) 2013 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine