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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #210385
Title: Results from The LIFE Piolt Study: A Trial of Physical Activity for Disability Prevention

Author
item KRITCHEVSKY, STEPHEN - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item GILL, THOMAS - GILL UNIVERSITY
item MILLER, MICHAEL - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item CHURCH, TIMOTHY - COOPER INSTITUTE
item STUDENSKI, STEPHANIE - UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
item KING, ABBY - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
item RAJESKI, W - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item PAHOR, MARCO - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item KATULA, JEFFERY - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item Fielding, Roger
item GLYNN, NANCY - UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
item GOODPASTER, BRET - UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
item WALKUP, MICHAEL - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item GURALNIK, JACK - NIA
item ESPELAND, MARK - WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
item NEWMAN, ANNE - UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
item BLAIR, STEVEN - THE COOPER INSTITUTE
item HADLEY, EVAN - NIA

Submitted to: Gerontological Society of America
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2006
Publication Date: 11/19/2006
Citation: Kritchevsky, S., Gill, T., Miller, M.E., Church, T., Studenski, S., King, A., Rajeski, W.J., Pahor, M., Katula, J., Fielding, R., Glynn, N., Goodpaster, B., Walkup, M., Guralnik, J., Espeland, M., Newman, A., Blair, S., Hadley, E. 2006. Results from The LIFE Piolt Study: A Trial of Physical Activity for Disability Prevention. 59th Annual Scientific Meeting, Gerontological Society of America, 11/19/2006, Dallas, TX. 4-5.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The increasing number of older Americans has made disability prevention a high public health priority. Considerable evidence points to exercise as a promising strategy to prevent disability, but definitive evidence from phase III clinical trials is lacking. The objective of the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study pilot was to guide the design of such a trial by providing information to refine recruitment and intervention strategies and to permit a more accurate sample size estimation by providing an estimate of the annual rate of mobility disability onset (defined as the inability to walk 400m in less than 15 minutes without an assistive device). The LIFE study pilot formally evaluated the effect of a walking-based physical activity intervention on continuous measures of physical performance in an ethnically-diverse older (aged 70-89) population at high risk for mobility disability, as determined by a Short Physical Performance Battery score < 10. The four field centers (The Cooper Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Stanford University, and Wake Forest University) recruited and randomized 424 participants to receive either a physical activity or a health education-based "successful" aging program. The intervention lasted from 12 to 18 months. This symposium will present, for the first time, the final study results, key lessons learned, and details on the design of the subsequent full-scale trial.