Background Regular physical activity should constitute the essence of treatment in patients with cardiovascular risk factors. We sought to determine the benefits of nurse-led intervention to promote physical activity in sedentary older adults in a primary care setting. Methods A group of 199 sedentary older adults (mean age 62.7±6.9, 34.2% male) with at least one more cardiovascular risk factor were randomized 1:1 to receive a nurse-led tutorial on lifestyle modification, including pedometer hand-out – with a daily goal of at least 7000 steps – and supporting phone calls (study group), or without a goal or calls (control group). Body weight (BW), resting heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), total cholesterol (TC) and glucose were assessed at baseline and after 3 months. Results Subjects in the study group (n = 86) achieved higher daily step count in comparison to the control group (n = 78), 10,648±3098 vs. 3589±2000, p < 0.0001. The study group presented an improvement in all analysed parameters but glucose, including BW (−2.5±1.9 kg), SBP and DBP (−7.9±7.6 mmHg and −6.2±6.5 mmHg) and TC (−14.7±30.4 mg%), all p < 0.0001. In the control group, all parameters increased or remained unchanged. An inverse correlation between the daily step count and delta of the analysed parameters (r = −0.26 to −0.72, p < 0.001) was found. Conclusion Nurse-led intervention with pedometer, goal setting and supporting phone calls is an effective way to promote physical activity in sedentary older adults and leads to improvement of cardiovascular risk factors within 3 months.

中文翻译：

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一项由护士主导的干预措施，以促进有心血管危险因素的久坐老年人的身体活动：一项随机临床试验（STEP-IT-UP 研究）

背景 规律的体育锻炼应构成心血管危险因素患者治疗的本质。我们试图确定以护士为主导的干预措施在促进初级保健机构中久坐不动的老年人身体活动方面的益处。方法 一组 199 名久坐不动的老年人（平均年龄 62.7±6.9，男性 34.2%）至少有一个以上心血管危险因素，他们以 1:1 的比例随机接受由护士主导的生活方式调整教程，包括计步器分发——与每天至少 7000 步的目标 - 并支持电话（研究组），或没有目标或电话（对照组）。在基线和 3 个月后评估体重 (BW)、静息心率、收缩压和舒张压 (SBP/DBP)、总胆固醇 (TC) 和葡萄糖。结果 与对照组 (n = 78) 相比，研究组 (n = 86) 的受试者获得了更高的每日步数，分别为 10,648±3098 对 3589±2000，p < 0.0001。研究组的所有分析参数均有所改善，但葡萄糖除外，包括 BW（-2.5±1.9 kg）、SBP 和 DBP（-7.9±7.6 mmHg 和 -6.2±6.5 mmHg）和 TC（-14.7±30.4 mg%），所有 p < 0.0001。在对照组中，所有参数均增加或保持不变。发现每日步数与分析参数的增量之间存在负相关（r = -0.26 至 -0.72，p < 0.001）。结论 护士主导的计步器、目标设定和支持电话干预是促进久坐老年人体力活动的有效方法，可在 3 个月内改善心血管危险因素。