Does attending an exercise class with a spouse improve long-term exercise adherence among people aged 65 years and older: a 6-month prospective follow-up study

Family support can help older adults better adhere to exercise routine, but it remains unclear whether an exercise program targeting older married couples would have stronger effects on exercise adherence than would a program for individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an exercise program on the exercise adherence of older married couples over a 24-week follow-up period.

Thirty-four older married couples and 59 older adults participated in this study as couple and non-couple groups (CG and NCG, respectively). All participants attended an 8-week supervised program (once a week and a home-based exercise program comprising walking and strength exercises) and then participated in a follow-up measurement (24 weeks after post-intervention measurement). Exercise adherence was prospectively measured via an exercise habituation diary during the follow-up period—specifically, we asked them to record practice rates for walking (≥2 days/week) and strength exercises (≥6 items for 2 days/week). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to obtain the CG’s odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for adherence to walking and strength exercise adjusted for potential confounders (with NCG as the reference).

Although the adherence rate of walking exercise in the CG was significantly higher than that in the NCG (29.2%; P < 0.001), there was no significant difference in the adherence rate of strength exercise between the two groups (P = 0.199). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that CG had significantly higher odds of adherence to walking exercise compared with the NCG (3.68 [1.57–8.60]). However, the odds of adherence to strength exercise did not significantly differ between the two groups (1.30 [0.52–3.26]).

These results suggest that an exercise program targeting older married couples may be a useful strategy for maintaining walking adherence, even six months after the supervised program has ceased. A blinded randomized controlled trial will be needed to confirm this conclusion.

Retrospectively registered. UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (Registered: 02/11/16) UMIN000024689.