Description of participants in the "Atout Age Mobility" prevention workshops at the University Hospital Center of La Réunion : a prospective study

Introduction As the population ages, loss of autonomy is becoming a priority public health issue. "Atout Age Mobility" prevention interventions for seniors aim to limit frailty, which is a predictive and reversible factor in the loss of autonomy and disability. Objectives The objective of this study is to describe the impact of these interventions on the physical performance and quality of life of a pilot sample of participants. Design We conducted a prospective study named 5P PILOT with 3 months of follow up. Settings Subjects were recruited by convenience sampling from participants in the "Atout Age Mobility" workshops at Saint Joseph from 04/09/2017 to 29/01/2019. Participants Retired people over 55 years old with no contraindications to physical activity recruited from participants in the "Atout Age Mobility" workshops in Saint Joseph. Intervention(s) (for clinical trials) or Exposure(s) (for observational studies): All participants completed 12 weeks of physical exercise called the "Atout Age Mobility" workshop, which lasted 60 minutes each week and was supervised by physical activity coaches. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s) Physical performance was assessed by Short physical performance battery (SPPB), 10-m gait speed and grip strength measurement. Quality of life through the SF-36 test. Results Ninety-six patients were included and 55 (57.3%) completed the study. There was a significant improvement in gait speed (1.35 +/- 0.26m/s vs. 1.27 +/- 0.24m/s; p=0.008). There was no significant change in SF-36, grip strength dominant arm and SPPB at the 0.01 significance level. Conclusion The "Atout Ages Mobility" workshops seem to significantly improve gait speed but not other aspects of physical performance or quality of life.