Combining motivational and exercise intervention components to reverse pre-frailty and promote self-efficacy among community-dwelling pre-frail older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

Exercise is effective in preventing frailty status in older adults, but the effect of an exercise program based on Wellness Motivation Theory (WMT) on the frailty status, self-efficacy for exercise, and quality of life for older adults with pre-frailty remains unclear. Our objective was to examine the efficacy of a multicomponent exercise program based on WMT on frailty status, self-efficacy, and quality of life among pre-frail older adults.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled trial of pre-frail older adults aged from 60 years to 85 years. Participants in the intervention group performed exercise three times a week for 24 weeks, once at a community health service station instructed by two researchers and two times at home. Participants in the control group were given one-time advice on physical activity. The assessor was the only one blinded. The primary outcome was the reversal rate of pre-frailty. The secondary outcomes included self-efficacy and quality of life.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-four participants were randomized into two groups (n = 72 in the intervention group and n = 72 in the control group) and analyzed. After 24 weeks, the proportion of pre-frailty was significantly lower in the intervention group than in control (31.8% versus 74.6%, P < 0.001). The absolute risk reduction was 42.8% [95% CI, 25.1-57.1]. In the 8th week and the 24th week, the frailty score of the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group. There were significant improvements in self-efficacy at week 2, week 8, and week 24. In weeks 8 and 24, participants in the intervention group reported a higher quality of life than the control group. There were no exercise-related injuries or falls among the participants.

CONCLUSIONS

The exercise intervention based on WMT for pre-frail older adults could reverse pre-frailty, increase self-efficacy for exercise, and improve the quality of life in older Chinese.

STUDY REGISTRATION DETAILS

This study was registered in www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov on the 25th of July, 2024, with the identifier NCT06519695.

REPORTING METHOD

The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist was used in this study for properly reporting how the randomized trial was conducted.