BACKGROUND: Multicomponent exercise has robust evidence supporting their effectiveness in preventing pre-frailty/frailty. However, a generalizable model for managing frailty through exercise in real-world settings is still not well defined. A promising approach is to incorporate exercise into daily life. We have developed a lifestyle-integrated multicomponent exercise program supported by a mHealth platform. The objective of this research was to assess its effectiveness and elucidate its potential mechanisms for reversing pre-frailty in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: In this prospective, two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial, 134 pre-frail older adult were enrolled from the Fujian Prospective Ageing Cohort. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (integrating multicomponent exercise into daily life through a mHealth platform) or control group (health education). The primary outcome was the proportion of participants exhibiting pre-frailty after a 6-month intervention. Secondary outcomes included changes in functional fitness, body composition, bone mineral density, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. RESULT: Of the 134 participants, 52 (77%) from the intervention group and 54 (81%) from the control group completed the study. After 6 months, the proportion of pre-frailty was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group (32.8% versus 98.5%, p < 0.0001). Improvements were observed in all five frailty components, except for unintentional weight loss. The intervention group also demonstrated significant enhancement in functional fitness, bone mineral density, and body composition (p < 0.005). Additionally, the intervention group experienced a decrease in sedentary time and an increase in light physical activity, although there was no statistically significant difference in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSION: The lifestyle-integrated multicomponent exercise program, facilitated through a mHealth platform, shows promising beneficial effects on reversing pre-frailty, improving functional fitness and body composition, and decreasing sedentary behavior in community-dwelling older adults.
With permission from Excerpta Medica Inc.

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