View clinical trials related to Quality of Life.
Filter by:The primary aim of this study is to establish if it is possible for patients who have undergone major body surgery to complete a home based exercise training program and complete the assessments required to measure physical and cognitive function. If the investigators can establish that it is feasible to complete the training and test's then further research can follow using these methods to determine whether it is possible to improve the physical function of older patients undergoing major abdominal surgery in the period following surgery by using a simple exercise regimen that can be carried out at home. By targeting physical function in this way the investigators hope to determine if it is a method for improving frailty and well being. In turn it may also have a positive impact on health service provision.
The Female Athlete Triad is a medical condition often observed in physically active girls and women, and involves 3 components: (1) low energy availability with or without disordered eating, (2) menstrual dysfunction, and (3) low bone mineral density. An early intervention is essential to prevent its progression to serious endpoints including clinical eating disorders, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis that can affect the quality of life of these patients and even compromise the athletic performance. All patients, aged between 14 and 40 years, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were prospectively enrolled in this observational study and were divided into two groups: Athletes agonists (Experimental Group or Group A) and women who do not perform agonistic sports (Control Group or Group B). In both groups of patients, the investigators administered two types of questionnaires: a standardized quality of Life questionnaire, validated in Italian (SF-12) and a screening questionnaire recommended by the Female Athlete Triad Expert Panel.
In line with improvements in oncologic outcome for patients with esophageal cancer, the attritional impact of curative treatment with respect to functional status and health-related quality of life (HR-QL) in survivorship is increasingly an important focus. Functional recovery after surgery for esophageal cancer is commonly confounded by anorexia and early satiety, which may reduce oral nutrient intake with consequent malnutrition and weight loss. One in three disease-free patients has more than fifteen percent body weight loss at three years after esophagectomy. The ESPEN Special Interest Group on cachexia-anorexia in chronic wasting diseases has defined sarcopenia as skeletal muscle index (SMI) of ≤39 cm2/m2 for women and ≤55cm2/m2 for men, while similar cut-off points have been validated in upper gastrointestinal and respiratory malignancies (less than 38.5 cm2/m2 for women and 52.4 cm2/m2 for men). The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) additionally recommends that assessment should also include determination of muscle function, for example gait speed or grip strength, where possible. The presence of sarcopenia is associated with increase treatment-associated morbidity, impaired HR-QL, reduced physical and role functioning, and increased pain scores in older adults. In addition, a previous longitudinal study demonstrated that the decline in HR-QL over a six year period in older adults was accelerated in the presence of sarcopenia. As such, sarcopenia may represent a modifiable barrier to recovery and subsequent retention of HR-QL and functional status, and may reinforce a persistent illness identity, among patients following potentially curative treatment for esophageal cancer.
Mental health issues in post-treatment adult cancer survivors are associated with multiple adverse outcomes and may represent a cancer health disparity for rural survivors. The purpose of this study is to test a stepped-care approach tailored to symptom severity based on recent American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines for reducing emotional distress (anxiety and/or depressive symptoms) and improving secondary outcomes (sleep disturbance, fatigue, fear of recurrence, quality of life) in rural, post-treatment cancer survivors in community oncology settings and to examine intervention costs. The resultant intervention will have great potential for widespread dissemination since it will be manualized, delivered by telephone, and comprised of modules to allow customized treatments for individuals with different cancer types.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem connective tissue disease characterised by vascular abnormalities and fibrosis, including those of the skin and can be categorised as either Limited cutaneous scleroderma or Diffuse cutaneous scleroderma. It is estimated that more than 90% of patients with SSc experience Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) at regular intervals during the course of their disease. Approximately 50% of patients with SSc develop severe digital ischaemia and/or ulceration which seems to be painful, difficult to heal, susceptible to infections and heavily influences quality of life and increases SSc-related disability. Medical treatment is commonly used as an effective first line approach in the NHS policy when uncontrolled RP attacks emerge. However, considering the short-term side effects (oedema, headaches, heart palpitations, dizziness and constipation) but also the long-term side effects of nifedipine (heart dysfunction and increased cardiovascular risk) as well as the financial cost of this approach, alternative approaches with less side effects and less cost implications are warranted. An alternative approach would be to implement a programme of therapeutic exercise that would be suitable for this patient group. To the investigators knowledge the efficacy of exercise on microcirculation in RP has not been previously examined. In this regard, high intensity interval training (HIIT) has come to prominence over the last years for its effectiveness in inducing greater improvements in vascular function than moderate intensity continuous training. Due to the variation in HIIT protocols evidence is limited to support which protocol is the most effective in SSc patients. Moreover, it should be noted that the chief aim of the research project is to encourage long-term adherence to physical activity and rehabilitation programmes in these patients which might be beneficial for the vascular function. A short HIIT protocol (30seconds/passive recovery) may elicit more favourable patient reported satisfaction /enjoyment levels compared to other longer exercise duration protocols. A short HIIT protocol (30seconds/passive recovery) has demonstrated to be well tolerated, preferred protocol with a low perception of effort, patient comfort and with a longer time spent at high percentage of V̇O2peak than a longer HIIT protocol with active recovery phases in chronic heart failure patients. More recent evidence supports this notion; when enjoyment levels in an overweight/obese cohort were examined after a short HIIT protocol. Although it is known that HIIT is capable to improve vascular function and potentially the microcirculatory parameters, evidence is scarce regarding the mode of exercise that will be more effective on digital microcirculation where the RP attacks are present in SSc patients. Assumptions could be made that utilising an upper-body exercise would potentially be more beneficial for the digital microcirculation rather than lower-body exercise where the working muscles promote the blood flow in the lower limbs. Hence, the differential effects that may occur by the upper- and lower-limb exercise on the digital microcirculation in SSc patients should be examined. Resistance training (RT) alone has shown significant improvements in the function of the vasculature; moreover, a combination of aerobic and RT have shown both in the past and recently important enhances in the vascular function and microcirculation. However, the limited number of studies have investigated the effects of RT on vasculature bespeaks a lack of concrete evidence. Moreover, to the investigators knowledge the effects of combined exercise (RT and aerobic exercise) utilising a HIIT protocol and RT on microcirculation has yet to be examined. Aims: The primary aim of the present study is to examine the feasibility of exercise in patients with Systemic Sclerosis experiencing Raynaud's Phenomenon.
The greater efficacy of combination therapy led to the development of fixed combination devices which simultaneously carry both glucocorticosteroid and a LABA (eg stable combinations of fluticasone-salmeterol, budesonide-formoterol). Fixed combinations are easier to use for patients, potentially increasing compliance, and ensure that the LABA always accompanied by glycocorticosteroeides1. From the available combinations of the combination of budesonide-formoterol can be used both in maintenance therapy and for the relief of symptoms due to the rapid onset of action of formoterol compared with salmeterol. Both components of budesonide-formoterol combination when administered on demand contribute to strengthening protection from severe exacerbations in patients receiving combination therapy for maintenance, and enable improvement of asthma control at relatively low doses of ICS.
The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of CCB and CCB+ high dose of statin therapy on the symptoms, function, and quality of life assessed by validated angina-specific questionnaire (Short-form Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ-7)), endothelial function as measured by FMD of the brachial artery, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) and coronary flow reserve (CFR) in patients with VSA.
This open-label field trial evaluates the effects of treatment with a multi-pathway dietary supplement (Stem Cell 100+) that has been commercially available for several years. The objective of the intervention trial is to determine if normal subjects over 35 years of age experience any observable health benefits from the dietary supplement as to their blood pressure, pulse rate, blood cholesterol, lung capacity, stress levels, or self reported changes in markers of overall health and life expectancy.
A 4-armed cluster randomised controlled trial conducted among secondary schoolgirls in Siaya, western Kenya, where clusters are the unit of allocation and schoolgirls the unit of measurement. The overall aim of the trial is to inform evidence-based policy to develop intervention programmes which improve adolescent girls' health, school equity and life-chances. The primary objective is to determine the impact of menstrual cups or cash transfer alone, or in combination, compared against controls, on a composite of deleterious outcomes (HIV, HSV-2 infection, and school dropout) over 3 schoolyears follow-up.
The primary objective of the study is to determine whether participation in a pre-bariatric surgery physical activity and behavior modification/education program (ENCOURAGEING START) that is tailored to the unique needs of obese bariatric surgery patients, improves physical fitness, surgical outcomes, patient health and quality of life. Short- (one year) and long- (five year) term outcomes will be compared to matched historical controls (1:1) based on age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) from the existing Manitoba Centre for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (CMBS) database. Our findings will determine whether a pre-bariatric surgery physical activity and behavior modification/education program results in improve surgical and patient outcomes and inform the development of evidence-based physical activity (PA) guidelines for bariatric surgery patients and improved CMBS program delivery.