Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2019 December, 249(4)

An Incremental Sit-to-Stand Exercise for Evaluating Physical Capacity in Older Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

KEISUKE NAKAMURA,¹ YUYA NAGASAWA,¹ SHOJI SAWAKI,² YOSHIHARU YOKOKAWA,³ MASAYOSHI OHIRA⁴ and YOSHIHIKO SATO²

¹Department of Rehabilitation, Matsumoto City Hospital, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
²Department of Internal Medicine, Matsumoto City Hospital, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
³Department of Physical Therapy, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
⁴Department of Rehabilitation, Kanno Dialysis and Vascular Access Clinic, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

Exercise is recommended for older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and increased physical activity contributes to better management of their condition. The conventional exercise test with treadmill or cycle ergometer (CE) for assessing physical capacity, such as peak oxygen uptake (VO₂) and anaerobic threshold (AT), is not always usable for older patients with T2DM. The incremental sit-to-stand (ISTS) exercise is an incremental exercise test using external signals to control the sit-to-stand rate in a given time frame and can be performed in a small space using only a chair. This study aimed to examine the validity of the physical capacity assessment during the ISTS exercise, based on the relationships between the ISTS performance, peak VO₂, AT on ISTS exercise and CE test, in older patients with T2DM. Twenty-two patients with T2DM (10 men, 12 women; mean age, 68.0 years; range, 61-77 years) performed ISTS exercise (according to an existing protocol) and CE test in a randomized manner. Peak VO₂, AT, and completion time were determined for the ISTS exercise and CE test. Peak VO₂ during ISTS exercise was significantly associated with that during the CE test (r = 0.89, p < 0.01). The completion time on the ISTS exercise was significantly associated with peak VO₂ (r = 0.80, p < 0.01) and AT on the ISTS exercise (r = 0.78, p < 0.01). The ISTS exercise is a useful tool to determine the physical capacity and estimate peak VO₂ and AT in older people with T2DM.

Keywords —— anaerobic threshold; incremental sit-to-stand test; peak oxygen uptake; physical capacity assessment tool; type 2 diabetes mellitus

© 2019 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2019, 249, 241-248

Correspondence: Keisuke Nakamura, Ph.D., R.P.T., Department of Rehabilitation, Matsumoto City Hospital, 4417-180 Hata, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-1401, Japan.

e-mail: keipons55@yahoo.co.jp