The Effect of a 12-Week Intradialytic Exercise on Patients’ Blood Indices, Physical Performance, and Quality of Life

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of a 12-week intradialytic exercise program on patients’ blood indices, physical performance, and quality of life. Forty-six outpatients who were diagnosed with end-stage renal failure by a nephrologist and received hemodialysis therapy for six months or longer were recruited. The data were analyzed using SPSS and Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to analyze the continuous variables. Among blood indices, Hematocrit decreased significantly after aerobic and complex exercise; hemoglobin dropped only after complex exercise; P and Ca×P increased for a considerable amount only after complex exercise, but the postexamination results show no significant difference. As for physical performance, sit-to-stand (STS)-5 decreased with resistance and complex exercise (p < .01), while there was a significant increase in STS-30 after aerobic, resistance, and complex exercise (p < .01). 6-minute walk test (MWT) grew significantly in all groups (p < .01), but alongside gait speed, and grip strength, it diminished significantly in the non-exercise group (p< .05). When it comes to SF-36, there was a significant rise in the physical component score (PCS) (p< .01) with resistance and complex exercise. In the meantime, mental component summary (MCS) went up significantly after all types of exercises (p < .01). In contrast, Beck depression inventory (BDI) showed a significant decline only with complex exercise (p < .01). To sum up, this study suggests intradialytic complex exercise appears to be effective in enhancing Short Form (SF)-36 and BDI as well as physical performance, which is why we recommend this type of complex exercise program for hemodialysis patients.