Physical activity improves overall quality of life, reduces depressive symptoms and cuts down premature death risk in patients with kidney failure who are on dialysis, a new study shows.
Dialysis facilities can enhance health of the patients by providing exercise programs, according to the research findings.
After researchers tracked the participants for 1.6 years, the team found that aerobic activity, not strength or flexibility activity, was associated positively with health-related quality of life and inversely with depressive symptoms and premature death. Those who were very active were found to be 40 percent less likely to die during follow-up than those who were never or rarely exercised.
The team observed similar associations with aerobic activity in subgroups defined by age, sex, time on dialysis and diabetes status.
In dialysis patients with heart failure, aerobic activity did not increase survival chnaces, but was associated positively with health-related quality of life and inversely with depressive symptoms.
"In addition, aerobic physical activity levels were found to be higher for patients treated in dialysis units offering an exercise program compared with units not offering an exercise program, pointing to the possibility to improve patient physical activity levels through greater availability of such programs for hemodialysis patients," said Dr. Antonio Alberto Lopes of the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil, reports HealthDay. "Our results call attention to opportunities for potentially improving the health of patients on hemodialysis through counseling for physical activity and the promotion of exercise programs in nephrology clinics."
The study was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
