Changes in caregiving risk and motor function among older adults participating in community gatherings in Koshigaya city.
Takaya Abe, Keisuke Kubota, Takahito Nakamura and 5 others
PMID 38434990WHAT IT FOUND
Frail older adults in community exercise groups saw lower caregiving risk scores and better leg strength after six months.
Healthy participants showed no benefit in risk scores, and leg strength gains were the only motor function improvement seen across the whole group.
Key findings
01Participants classified as pre-frail had significantly lower total caregiving risk scores after six months of participation, while healthy participants had significantly higher scores.
02Leg strength, measured by the number of chair stands in 30 seconds, improved significantly in both the pre-frail and healthy groups.
03Balance and mobility, measured by the timed up-and-go test and one-leg standing time, did not improve significantly in either group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study is retrospective and lacked a control group, so changes cannot be definitively attributed to the program rather than natural variation or other community activities. A large number of participants (594 out of 851) were excluded due to missing data or dropout, which may introduce selection bias. The healthy group showed a statistically significant increase in caregiving risk scores, which is counterintuitive and may reflect measurement variability or regression to the mean rather than actual deterioration. Baseline mobility was already high in most participants, potentially masking improvements in TUG due to a ceiling effect.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The work was supported by a grant from the Saitama Prefectural University Research Development Center Project.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this program improves balance or mobility for all older adults. The study found no significant changes in the timed up-and-go test or one-leg standing time for either the frail or healthy groups, suggesting the exercises may not be sufficient to challenge these specific functions.