The objective effects of early mobilization on physical function in patients after cardiac surgery remain unknown. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effects of early mobilization on physical function in patients after cardiac surgery through meta-analysis. Four electronic databases were searched on 2 August 2019. We used search keywords related to “early mobilization”, “cardiac surgery”, and “randomized controlled trials”. All randomized controlled trials conducting early mobilization after cardiac surgery were included. We defined early mobilization as the application of physical activity within the first five postoperative days. Citations and data extraction were independently screened in duplicate by two authors. The meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects modeling with EZR software. The primary outcome was the distance walked during the six-minute walking test at hospital discharge. Six randomized controlled trials comprising 391 patients were included following screening of 591 studies. All studies included coronary artery bypass grafting as the cardiac surgery conducted. Early mobilization started on postoperative days 1–2 and was conducting twice daily. Early mobilization showed a trend of being combined with respiratory exercise or psychoeducation. The meta-analysis showed that the distance walked during the 6-min walking test improved by 54 m (95% confidence interval, 31.1–76.9; I² = 52%) at hospital discharge. The present study suggested that early mobilization after cardiac surgery may improve physical function at discharge.

The present study aimed to clarify the difference in physical activity (PA) due to sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults with long-term care insurance (LTCI). This was a cross-sectional study that investigated data of 97 consecutive community-dwelling older Japanese adults with LTCI who underwent rehabilitation at one day care center in Japan from November 2018 to May 2019. Sarcopenia was determined according to criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. Unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test and analysis of covariance were used to compare participant characteristics and clinical parameters between the older adults with and without sarcopenia. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the cut-off value of PA for sarcopenia. The sarcopenia group (n = 20) had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass index, gait speed, and PA than those in the no sarcopenia group (n = 28) (p < 0.05). After adjustment for BMI and sex, the sarcopenia group showed significantly lower PA than the no sarcopenia group. Findings showed that the cut-off value of PA indicating sarcopenia by ROC curve analysis was 1494.4 steps/day (p < 0.05); this value may aid in identifying sarcopenia in older adults with LTCI.

Purpose: This investigation aimed to examine the relationship among activities of daily living (ADL), nutritional status and 90-day hospital readmission in elderly heart failure (HF) patients. Methods: Participants were selected from 634 HF patients consecutively hospitalized at one institution. We investigated patient characteristics, ADL (motor and cognitive items of Functional Independence Measure (FIM)) and nutritional status (Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI)). Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test, χ² test, Cox proportional hazard model, and Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The 169 participants that met inclusion criteria were divided into two groups based on hospital readmission within 90 days of discharge. Body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.03), hemoglobin (p = 0.047), GNRI (p = 0.02) and motor-FIM (p = 0.007) were significantly different between the readmission (n = 31) and non-readmission (n = 138) groups. After Cox proportional hazard model analysis, GNRI (HR: 0.96; p = 0.048) and motor-FIM (HR: 0.97; p = 0.03) scores remained statistically significant. Participants were then classified into four groups based on a previous study’s cut-off values of prognosis for GNRI and motor-FIM. Readmission avoidance rate was significantly lower (p = 0.002) in the group with GNRI <92 and motor FIM <75. Conclusions: This study showed that motor-FIM and GNRI scores for hospitalized elderly HF patients were predictors of readmission within 90 days of discharge.

The activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with cardiac disease tend to decline. A previous study revealed that ADL relates to physical and cognitive functions associated with health literacy (HL). However, the relationship between HL and ADL is not well documented. This study aimed to clarify this relationship among patients participating in cardiac rehabilitation. This multicenter study, the Kobe-Cardiac Rehabilitation project for people around the World (K-CREW), included patients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation from October 2020 to December 2021. Patients with probable dementia and difficulty walking alone were excluded. We used the 14-item Health Literacy Scale (HLS-14) to assess HL and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) to assess ADL at discharge. Patients were divided by their HLS-14 score into the low HL group (<50 points) or the high HL group (≥50 points). We analyzed the relationship between the HLS-14 and FIM scores. We investigated 268 cardiac rehabilitation patients (median age, 71.0 years; male ratio, 76.9%). Low HL patients accounted for 51.1% of all patients and had significantly lower motor and cognitive FIM scores. Functional HL related better to the FIM scores (r = 0.28–0.36) than did other HL subclasses. Multiple regression analysis identified HLS-14 as an explanatory variable (p = 0.002) for the total FIM score. Patients with low HL had significantly lower ADL than those with high HL. These findings underscore the importance of considering HL in cardiac rehabilitation.

Various studies have shown the effectiveness of motor interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Web-based interventions may provide an opportunity for remote access to effective interventions with less burden on therapists. This systematic review aimed to examine the effects of web-based exercise interventions for children with NDDs. We searched PubMed for relevant articles published in English since 1994 and included intervention studies focusing on NDDs in children aged ≤18 years, who received web-based exercise interventions. We categorized the extracted information by outcome measure and intervention type and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. We selected five articles whose subjects had autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The exercise interventions used active video games, a Zoom-based intervention, and a WhatsApp-based intervention. Three papers showed improvements in physical activity, motor function, and executive function, whereas two papers on DCD showed no improvements in motor coordination or physical activity. Web-based exercise intervention for children with ASD and ADHD may improve their motor function, executive function, and physical activity rather than for children with NDDs. An intervention may be more effective when the content of the intervention is based on objectives and symptoms, when guidance is provided by specialists, or when sufficient explanation and support are provided to parents. However, more research is needed to statistically evaluate the effectiveness of web-based exercise interventions for children with NDDs.