BACKGROUND: The study tested the effect of strength and endurance training on gait, balance, physical health status, fall risk, and health services use in older adults. METHODS: The study was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis. Adults (n = 105) age 68 to 85 with at least mild deficits in strength and balance were selected from a random sample of enrollees in a health maintenance organization. The intervention was supervised exercise (1-h sessions, three per week, for 24 to 26 weeks), followed by self-supervised exercise. Exercise groups included strength training using weight machines (n = 25), endurance training using bicycles (n = 25), and strength and endurance training (n = 25). Study outcomes included gait tests, balance tests, physical health status measures, self-reported falls (up to 25 months of follow-up), and inpatient and outpatient use and costs. RESULTS: There were no effects of exercise on gait, balance, or physical health status. Exercise had a protective effect on risk of falling (relative hazard 0.53, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.91). Between 7 and 18 months after randomization, control subjects had more outpatient clinic visits (p < 0.06) and were more likely to sustain hospital costs over $5,000 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise may have beneficial effects on fall rates and health care use in some subgroups of older adults. In community-living adults with mainly mild impairments in gait, balance, and physical health status, short-term exercise may not have a restorative effect on these impairments.
Copyright the Gerontological Society of America. Reproduced by permission of the publisher.

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