Health education programs may be as effective as exercise intervention on improving health-related quality of life among Japanese people over 65 years

摘要

Aim: The current study was aimed to examine the short-term effects of a 3-month health education program on health-related quality of life using the Short-Form 36. Methods: Twenty-five Japanese older people aged 65 and older in the health education program were compared with two historical control groups (n= 25 each) undertaking group and resistance exercise interventions and matched by age, sex and body mass index. A series of split-design two-way analyses of variance were conducted for data analysis. Results: Significant improvements were observed in general health and vitality subscales of the Short-Form 36 in the educational program group. Multivariate analyses, adjusted for several confounding factors, revealed that the effects of the three programs were comparable. Conclusions: The findings suggest that a structured 3-month educational program may be as effective as exercise interventions in improving general health and vitality in a community-dwelling Japanese older population.