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. 2024 Dec;15(6):1693-1700.
doi: 10.1007/s41999-024-01051-5. Epub 2024 Sep 9.

The impact of changes in physical activity on functional recovery for older inpatients in post-acute rehabilitation units

Hiroki Saegusa  1   2   3 , Iwao Kojima  4 , Yusuke Terao  4 , Shingo Koyama  5 , Mizue Suzuki  6 , Shu Tanaka  7 , Yosuke Kimura  8 , Yuhei Otobe  9 , Takuya Aoki  4 , Sho Nishida  4 , Yasuhiro Kitagawa  10 , Minoru Yamada  11
Affiliations

The impact of changes in physical activity on functional recovery for older inpatients in post-acute rehabilitation units

Hiroki Saegusa et al. Eur Geriatr Med. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: The effect of increased physical activity duration on functional recovery in older inpatients in subacute settings is not well established. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity and functional recovery in older patients receiving post-acute and subacute care.

Methods: We analyzed cohort data of hospitalized older patients (age ≥ 65 years) in the post-acute rehabilitation units. The main outcome was functional independence measure (FIM) gain. Physical activity was measured using a triaxial accelerometer. Changes in sedentary behavior and total physical activity time from admission to discharge were measured as changes in each physical activity time. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between changes in physical activity and FIM gain.

Results: A total of 210 patients were eligible for analysis. The mean age of the study patients was 83.6 ± 7.2 years, and 63.8% (n = 134) were female. According to the multivariate regression analysis, changes in sedentary behavior time were significantly associated with high recovery of FIM gain (odds ratio [OR] 0.996, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.993-1.000; p = 0.026), and changes in total physical activity time also showed a similar association (OR 1.006, 95% CI 1.000-1.011; p = 0.041).

Conclusion: Decreased sedentary behavior time and increased total physical activity time were significantly associated with high functional recovery in post-acute rehabilitation units. These results suggest that interventions for physical activity duration may be effective in improving activities of daily living in older post-acute and subacute patients.

Keywords: Community-based integrated care units; Functional recovery; Older patients; Physical activity; Post-acute; Rehabilitation; Subacute.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. Ethical approval: This study was approved by the Committee of Ethics of Shonan Keiiku Hospital (No. 20-012). Informed consent: Taken from all patients or their caregivers/relatives.

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