Effects of aerobic exercise program on physical activity levels in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise program on changes in physical activity (PA) levels of hemodialysis patients. The sample consisted of 24 hemodialysis patients, 45.8% of female subjects, with an average age of 75.1 ± 11.8 years, were subjected to an aerobic exercise program intradialytic 3 times per week over 8 weeks. The training load was individualized with progressive increase through the self-perception effort. Accelerometers were used for the evaluation of PA during a continuous week, before and after the implementation of the program. The results suggested that PA mainly performed in both moments of evaluation was light intensity, on the other hand, the moderate and vigorous PA together constituted less than 1% of total PA performed. The time spent in light PA increased significantly between the pre and post-test (p= 0.03), while the time spent in sedentary activities, moderate PA and vigorous PA did not change significantly. In conclusion, light PA significantly increased between the pre and post-test. There were not significant changes in sedentary time, in moderate and vigorous PA.