The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of combined aerobic and resistance training circuit on daily physical activity, motor function, and health-related QOL among community-dwelling women aged over 65. Of 102 subjects recruited from the local community, 60 met the inclusion criteria. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: intervention and control. The intervention group was asked to participate in 60 minutes of combined aerobic and resistance training circuit three times a week for 3 months, while the control group was asked to participate in a study circle once a month for 3 months. Daily physical activity was measured by an activity monitor, and questionnaire, physical functioning, and health related QOL were measured before and after intervention. Daily physical activity as measured by the activity monitor increased significantly in the intervention group but not in the control group, although daily physical activity as measured by questionnaire did not significantly differ between groups. Distance walked over 6 minutes significantly increased in the intervention group than in the control group. No significant difference was found in health related QOL between groups. We conclude that combined aerobic and resistance training circuit is effective for increasing daily activity in community-dwelling older women and for enhancing physical function.

In the last decade, 78 patients received operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms with a transperitoneal approach (TP) while in 82 patients we used an extraperitoneal approach (EP). Forty-two patients in the TP group and 40 in the EP group who required no concurrent repair of the inferior mesenteric artery, renal artery or lower extremity arteries were compared. There was no difference between the two groups in mean operative time, mean amount of intraoperative bleeding or mean amount of required homologous blood transfusion. The mean interval after surgery to beginning peroral alimentation and the mean duration of postoperative fluid therapy were significantly shorter in the EP group than in the TP group. An extraperitoneal approach for abdominal aortic reconstruction is preferable for an early postoperative recovery.

Physical performance measures, such as gait speed, one-legged stance and hand-grip strength, are known as assessment measures of motor function and predictors for adverse health outcomes, and widely used for assessing motor function in preventive programs for long-term care or screening of frail elderly. However, there is no standard assessment sheet for feedback of the results. In the present study, an assessment sheet on physical performance measures for community-dwelling older adults was developed. A pooled analysis of data from six cohort studies, including urban and rural areas was conducted as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Study on Aging. The pooled analysis included cross-sectional data from 4683 nondisabled, community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older. Quintiles were derived according to age and sex group for six physical performance measures, i.e., hand-grip strength, one-legged stance, and gait speed and step length at both usual and maximum paces. The assessment sheets, which indicated the physical performance level according to age and sex, were developed by fitting third order polynomial curves to the data. The reference values in the present assessment sheet were considered to be derived from better represented community-dwelling older adults by using more large-scale population-based cohort data than that in the previous study. The assessment sheet should be useful for feeding back results on physical performance measures to elderly individuals and help them better understand their own physical performance levels.