Assessments
All subjects involved in this study underwent clinical evaluations and performed some physical and cognitive tests with the research team composed of physicians and physiotherapists in an appropriate environment, before and after the intervention period. To avoid possible bias, the researchers who took care of the data treatment were blinded to the results. A physical and general clinical evaluation was performed with collection of socioeconomic, demographic, anthropometric data, self-referred comorbidities, sleep quality evaluation, daytime sleepiness, risk of obstructive sleep apnea, functional mobility and level of physical activity, according to an established protocol.18,19
The anthropometric variables evaluation and body mass were obtained using a stadiometer Welmy® (Welmy, São Paulo, Brazil) brand scale, with a capacity of 150 kilograms (kg); the height, in meters (m), was measured by means of a vertical scale; to measure the circumference of the abdomen was used an anthropometric tape of the brand Cescorf® (Cescorf Equipamentos para Esporte Ltda., Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil) and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the weight in kg divided by the height in meters squared. The physical activity level was assessed through the International Questionnaire of Physical Activity (IPAQ) adapted for the elderly.20 It is an instrument that allows estimating the weekly energy expenditure of physical activities related to work, transportation, domestic tasks, and leisure, carried out for at least 10 continuous minutes, with moderate and / or vigorous intensity during a normal / usual week. This variable was dichotomized, and those who performed less than 150 minutes per week of moderate and / or vigorous and active physical activity were those who performed more than 150 minutes per week. Functional mobility was assessed using the Timed Up and Go test (TUG).21 The procedure followed was described in the original test, where the participant starts in the sitting position in a chair with arms (height of the seat of 45 cm and arms of 65 cm), firm to the floor, with the back resting on the backrest of the chair, being guided to stand up, walk a distance of three meters ahead, make a 180º turn in a marking made in the ground, return and sit again, running as fast as possible, but safely and comfortably, minimizing the possibility of accidents. A Cassio® HS-70W (Casio Computer LTDA, São Paulo, Brazil) chronometer was used from the verbal command ”already” at the beginning of the test and stopped when the participant sat down again. All the subjects performed the test twice, and in the second the execution time was registered. To evaluate the QOL, was applied the World Health Organization questionnaire Quality of Life Group-old (WHOQOL-OLD)22, which contains six facets of 4 items each, evaluated by the Likert scale (1 to 5 points): Facet I - ”Operation of Sensory”; Facet II - ”Autonomy”; Facet III - ”Past Activities, Gifts and Future”; Facet IV - ”Social Participation”; Facet V - ”Death and Dying”; Facet VI - ”Intimacy”. Each of the facets has 4 items, so for all facets the score of the possible values can range from 4 to 20, and the scores of these six facets or the values of the 24 items can be combined to produce a ”global” quality of life in the elderly.