Impact of a lay-led home-based intervention programme on quality of life in community-dwelling pre-frail and frail older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Due to the demographic ageing process and the increasing number of pre-frail and frail individuals, new lifestyle interventions to enhance the quality of life (QoL) in community-dwelling older adults are necessary. Therefore, we performed a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to compare effects of a lay-led home-based physical and nutritional intervention programme with social support alone on different QoL domains in community-dwelling pre-frail and frail older adults. METHODS: In this analysis within a RCT (12 weeks), lay volunteers visited one-on-one pre-frail or frail older adults at home twice a week. Participants in the physical training and nutritional intervention (PTN) group performed six strength exercises and discussed main nutritional issues during each visit. The social support (SOSU) group received home visits twice a week for social exchanges. The QoL was assessed with the WHOQOL-BREF and the WHOQOL-OLD instruments. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to examine differences between groups with baseline values as the covariate. Changes within groups were assessed with paired t-tests. RESULTS: Eighty participants (n = 39 in the PTN group and n = 41 in the SOSU group) were included. No significant differences were found between the two groups except in past, present and future activities domain [ß = 3.66 (95% confidence interval 0.13 to 7.18)] in favour of the PTN group. However, there was some evidence of greater within group improvements in the PTN group particularly in overall QoL, social relations and social participation. In the SOSU group, no significant effect was observed in any QoL domain. CONCLUSION: A combination of a home-based physical and nutritional intervention was not more effective compared to social support alone, on QoL in community-dwelling pre-frail and frail older adults. However, the small but significant improvement within the PTN group suggests that a home-based physical and nutritional intervention delivered by volunteers may influence the QoL in a positive way. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study protocol was registered on 6 November 2013 at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT01991639 ).

[Risk factor management of coronary heart disease : what is evidence-based?]. / Risikofaktorenmanagement bei koronarer Herzerkrankung : Was ist evidenzbasiert?

In patients with coronary heart disease the further course of the disease can be substantially influenced by means of a targeted treatment of risk factors. A reduction of hospital referrals, an improvement in quality of life and an extension in life expectation by secondary prophylactic measures have been well documented. In addition to an optimized medicinal therapy, an often drastic change in lifestyle with a focus on a consistent abstinence from nicotine, a healthy diet and regular physical exercise is necessary. Data from healthcare research show that these targets are only insufficiently achieved. The implementation of current guidelines should therefore be rigorously applied. There is a need for research particularly with respect to the prognostic significance of beta blocker therapy for patients with stable coronary heart disease and preserved left ventricular function, the prognostic significance of targeted weight loss for overweight or obese coronary heart disease patients, the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in the various patient groups and their implementation into routine care. Research is also necessary with respect to optimization of structured rehabilitation programs and improvement in patient compliance.