Interventions for frailty and sarcopenia in community-dwelling elderly women

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of exercise alone in improving frailty, and exercise with nutritional supplementation in improving sarcopenia.
Methods: Frailty: 131 community-dwelling elderly people over 75 years of age were randomly assigned to either the exercise group (n=66) or the control group (n=65). The exercise group was provided with a 60-minute comprehensive exercise program twice a week for 3 months. Sarcopenia: 155 community-dwelling elderly people over 75 years of age were randomly assigned to the exercise + amino acid group (n=39), exercise group (n=39), amino acid group (n=39) or control group (n=38). The exercise intervention included a comprehensive training program for 60 minutes, provided twice a week for 3 months. The amino acid group ingested a leucine-rich essential amino acid supplementation (6 g/day) for 3 months.
Results: Frailty: in comparison to the non-frail elderly, muscle mass, bone mineral density, knee extension strength, and walking speed were significantly lower in the frail elderly; however, pain, fall rate, and osteoporosis history were greater in the frail elderly. The exercise intervention significantly improved bone mineral content and grip strength. Sarcopenia: appendicular skeletal muscle mass and walking speed were significantly improved by exercise or amino acid supplementation. However, muscle strength improved significantly only in the exercise + amino acid intervention.
Conclusion: In the frail elderly, exercise was effective in enhancing bone mineral content and muscle strength; however, in order to increase leg muscle mass and strength in sarcopenic elderly, both exercise and amino acid supplementation may be necessary.