A new study has revealed that exercise significantly enhances the quality of life among geriatrics.
The study compared the efficiency of three programmes designed for reducing falls and improving quality-of-life among the elderly; education, home safety assessment and modification (HSAM) and exercise training.The study also examined the secondary effects of these programs on functional balance, daily activity, fear of falling and depression level, finding that exercise training yields the most significant improvements.
Participation in the study was open to people aged 65 years and older who required medical attention for a fall within a month. Participants were assigned to one of the three fall prevention program groups, and the quality of life was then assessed according to the World Health Organization's Quality of Life guidelines, focusing on four domains; physical capacity, psychological well-being, social relationships and environment.
Although all programs appeared to lead to some improvement in quality of life, improvements were significantly greater in the exercise-training group. Exercise training participation also led to improvements in functional reach, balance and fear of falling.
"The quality of life benefits reflect not just health states, but also how patients perceive and value the health- and non-health-related aspects of their conditions before and after receiving an intervention," said Dr. Mau-Roung Lin, co-author of the study. These measures may therefore be beneficial for selecting interventions that are of optimal value to older people.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Source-ANI
LIN/S
