Melhoria da Capacidade Funcional Excede à da Condição Aeróbica: dados de 144 pacientes de programa de exercício

Background: Patients in supervised exercise programs (SEP) have proportionally greater improvement in functional capacity than that of aerobic fitness. However, the variables determining this difference are not welldefined. Objective: To discover whether changes in flexibility and muscle strength/power contribute to the difference between improvements in functional capacity (DIFA) and aerobics fitness resulting from SEP participation. Methods: Data was used for 144 patients (96 men), age 62±12 years old (mean±standard deviation), performing flexibility, muscle strength/power and maximal cardiopulmonary cycle ergometer tests before and after at least 3 months of SEP. The data are reported as percentages of age-predicted values obtained through specific equations. Results: After an average of 32 months of PES, flexibility improved in 11.6% (p<0.01) and muscle strength 14.7% (p<0.01), adjusted for age, while handgrip strength was preserved (p=0.47). There was an inverse relationship between the results of the first evaluation and the aerobic improvement (r=-0.28; p<0.01), which did not occur with the functional assessment (r=-0.09; p=0.27). Considering age-predicted values, aerobic fitness improved slightly less than aerobic fitness at 21% versus 25% (p<0.01), resulting in a mean DBIFA of 4.1%. Only improved flexibility was associated with DBIFA (r=0.24, p<0.01). Conclusion: SEP attendance tends to induce slightly higher gains in functional capacity compared to aerobic