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Updated: Aug 8, 2025

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Clinical Outcomes Following Exercise Rehabilitation in People with Multimorbidity: A Systematic Review
Kathryn Barker1, Anne E Holland2, Elizabeth H Skinner3
1Department of Chronic and Complex Care, Western Health, St Albans; Discipline of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Bundoora.
Objective:
To determine the effectiveness of exercise rehabilitation in people with multimorbidity. Exercise capacity was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were: health-related quality of life, activities of daily living, cardiometabolic outcomes, mental health outcomes, symptom scores, resource utilization, health behaviours, economic outcomes, and adverse events.
Data Sources:
A search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINHAL, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases.
Study Selection And Extraction:
Randomized and non-randomized controlled trials and cohort studies of exercise rehabilitation vs any comparison in people with multimorbidity.
Data Synthesis:
Forty-four reports (38 studies) were included. Rehabilitation ranged from 8 weeks to 4 years, with 1-7 sessions of rehabilitation weekly. Exercise included aerobic and resistance, limb training, aquatic exercises and tai chi. Compared with usual care, exercise rehabilitation improved 6-min walk distance (weighted mean difference (WMD) 64 m, 95% CI 45-82) and peak oxygen consumption (WMD 2.74 mL/kg/min, 95% CI -3.32 to 8.79). Effects on cardiometabolic outcomes and health-related quality of life also favoured rehabilitation; however; few data were available for other secondary outcomes.
Conclusion:
In people with multimorbidity, exercise rehabilitation improved exercise capacity, health-related quality of life, and cardiometabolic outcomes.
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