title: Fall risk-relevant functional mobility outcomes in dementia following dyadic tai chi exercise.
abstract: Whether persons with dementia benefit from fall prevention exercise is unclear. Applying the Positive Emotion-Motivated Tai Chi protocol, preliminary findings concerning adherence and effects of a dyadic Tai Chi exercise program on persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are reported. Using pre/posttest design, 22 community-dwelling AD-caregiver dyads participated in the program. Fall-risk-relevant functional mobility was measured using Unipedal Stance Time (UST) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests. Results showed that 19/22 (86.4%) AD patients completed the 16-week program and final assessment; 16/19 dyads (84.2%) completed the prescribed home program as reported by caregivers. UST adjusted mean improved from 4.0 to 5.1 (Week 4, p < .05) and 5.6 (Week 16, p < .05); TUG improved from 13.2 to 11.6 (Week 4, p < .05) and 11.6 (Week 16, p > .05) post intervention. Retaining dementia patients in an exercise intervention remains challenging. The dyadic Tai Chi approach appears to succeed in keeping AD-caregiver dyads exercising and safe.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Michigan State University, B515-H West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. lan.yao@hc.msu.edu
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Bruno J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Giordani
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Algase
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Neil B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Alexander
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D010349:Patient Compliance; D018570:Risk Assessment; D026302:Tai Ji