Effects of a Home-Based Exercise Program on Health-Related Quality of Life and Physical Fitness in Dementia Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Regular exercise can be an effective health-promotion strategy to improve the physical and mental health of informal caregivers. A randomized controlled trial study was designed to evaluate the effects of a 9-month home-based exercise intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical fitness in female family caregivers of persons with dementia. Fifty-four female caregivers were randomly assigned to two groups for the 9-month study period.

Family Orchards and Health-Related Quality of Life in the Elderly. A Protocol for a Study in Las Hurdes (Spain) Based on an Ethnographic Approach.

Demographic evolution is resulting on an aged population increment in Spain. This growth has been more relevant in rural areas, where the population has traditionally lived under hard socio-economic conditions and leveraging the natural resources such as food from family orchards to survive. Studies that have investigated the possibilities and uses of these traditional family orchards today in relation to health-related quality of life in the elderly are scarce.

Effects of a home-based exercise program on mental health for caregivers of relatives with dementia: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based physical exercise program on participants' mental health: psychological symptoms, depression, and burden of female informal caregivers.

Design And Participants: In a randomized controlled trial, a sample of 48 female informal primary caregivers completed the entire study, 25 were randomly allocated to the intervention group (IG), and 23 participants to the control group (CG).

Intervention: Participants in the IG performed two 60-minute-long physical exercise sessions per week (36 weeks) that were supervised by a personal trainer at caregivers' home during 9 months.

Health-related quality of life and multidimensional fitness profile in polio survivors.

Purpose: To assess and compare the HRQoL and physical fitness of polio survivors with healthy individuals.

Methods: Thirty-seven polio survivors and 40 healthy individuals were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was used to evaluate participant's level of fatigue; Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used for evaluating HRQoL, and hand-grip strength, lumbar trunk muscle endurance, flexibility, balance, and aerobic endurance were used as measures for physical fitness.

Cost-Effectiveness and Effects of a Home-Based Exercise Intervention for Female Caregivers of Relatives with Dementia: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Previous research has proposed a range of support interventions to mitigate the adverse impact of caregiving on the daily life of caregivers of relatives with dementia. However, the effectiveness of these interventions shows a high variability. Informal caregivers usually lack the time and/or live too far from conventional facilities to do physical exercise, especially those who live in rural areas.

Psychological Symptomatology in Informal Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: Influences on Health-Related Quality of Life.

Informal caregivers of persons with dementia often report high levels of anxiety, depression and burden. Nonetheless, other less evaluated psychological symptoms might also influence their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to comprehensively analyse other psychological symptoms and their influence on the health-related quality of life of informal caregivers.

Health-related quality of life and fitness of the caregiver of patient with dementia.

Purpose: : The aim was to assess the health-related quality of life and physical fitness of women who care for a relative with dementia compared with an age-matched group of noncaregiver women, for the purpose of designing adequate physical exercise programs.

Methods: : A cross-sectional study was conducted in Extremadura, Spain, with 54 caregivers and 56 noncaregivers who were assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire and a battery of fitness tests.

Results: : The reported mental health (mental, emotional role, and social categories of SF-36) of the carers was 22% lower than that of the noncaregivers, but both groups were similar in physical health.