Clinical trial NCT00248781: Home-based Exercise Via a Telecommunications System
Official title: Home-based Exercise Via a Telecommunications System
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE3
Conditions: Functional Limitation
Keywords: Activities of daily living
Aging
Exercise
Weight lifting
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2005-11-04
Enrollment: 103
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL

Brief summary: This study is investigating the effects of a home-based resistance exercise program, administered via an interactive telecommunications system, in functionally limited older veterans.

Detailed description: Inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle have been shown to accelerate and exaggerate the age-related decline in muscle strength. In this context, a rapid decline in strength among older adults has been linked to physical frailty, falls, functional decline, impaired mobility, and nursing home placement. Substantial evidence now suggests that habitual physical activity is associated with the maintenance of muscle strength and physical function well into the 8th and 9th decades of life. We propose to investigate the effects of a home-based resistance exercise program, administered via an interactive telecommunications system without the participation of health professionals, in functionally limited older veterans. Subjects will be randomized to either the automated exercise group or an attention placebo control group. The exercise group will undergo resistance training at home three times a week for 6 months, guided by the telecommunications system, followed by a 6-month maintenance phase of less frequent interaction with the system. Outcome measurements will include muscle strength and physical performance related to daily activities at 3, 6, and 12 months to determine the efficacy of the intervention and the time course and durability of the effect. The control group will also interact with the telecommunications system once a week for the whole year, but no exercise will be prescribed. If this home-based, automated, interactive exercise program is effective, it will provide a low-cost easily disseminated approach to improving the strength and functional status of older veterans

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 65 years
* Ability to use a telephone without assistance

Exclusion Criteria:

* Angina pectoris
* Myocardial infarction
* Ventricular dysrhythmia currently receiving therapy
* Systolic blood pressure 165 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure 100 mm Hg

Primary outcomes:
measure: Knee Extension Strength
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Knee Flexion Strength
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Single Leg Stance With Eyes Open
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Tandem Stance
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Six-minute Walk
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Knee Extension Strength (Durability)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Knee Flexion Strength (Durability)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Single Leg Stance With Eyes Open (Durability)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Tandem Stance (Durability)
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Six-minute Walk (Durability)
timeFrame: 12 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: VA Boston Health Care System
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: VA Boston Health Care System
name: David William Sparrow, DSc
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: