Community Physical Exercise Program in Chronic Disease

Summary

This study focuses on promoting physical activity (PA) through the implementation of a Community Physical Exercise Program for Chronic Diseases (CPEP-CD), targeting individuals aged 50 years and older with at least two of the following conditions: cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular disease or risk (CVD), overweight, diabetes mellitus (DM), and musculoskeletal diseases. The primary objective is to improve muscle and cardiorespiratory health and well-being, while also contributing to a more objective and evidence-based exercise prescription for these pathological conditions.

Population ageing is a global challenge associated with an increased prevalence of chronic diseases that compromise quality of life (QoL). A sedentary lifestyle is linked to declines in muscle function and cardiorespiratory fitness and is considered a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Consequently, physical exercise is widely recommended as a key non-pharmacological intervention across multiple chronic diseases.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, regular PA is a protective factor in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and DM. In addition, PA provides mental health benefits, supports healthy weight maintenance, and enhances overall well-being. In adults, regular PA is associated with reductions in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and the incidence of hypertension.

Within this context, the aim of this project is to implement a community-based physical exercise program for individuals with chronic disease and multimorbidity, focusing on CVD and cerebrovascular disease or risk, DM, and OA. The program integrates existing exercise prescription guidelines while personalizing exercise progression according to both disease-specific and multimorbidity profiles. The primary outcomes include improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, bone health, functional capacity, and QoL. Additionally, through individualized training monitoring, this study seeks to establish an exercise prescription tailored to the most prevalent combinations of chronic diseases, thereby providing more objective and practical guidance for family physicians, exercise professionals, and rehabilitation specialists, and supporting more personalized and targeted exercise-based strategies for chronic disease prevention and management.

Conditions

• Osteoarthritis Pain
• Myocardial Infarction (MI)
• Hypertension
• Dyslipidemia
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Overweight , Obesity
• Stroke

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Physical Exercise

The intervention include a personalized physical exercise program based on aerobic and strength training, with prior warm-up and post cool-down exercises. International/national exercise prescription guidelines will be applied for each clinical condition (cardio/cerebrovascular disease/risk, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis). The main exercise component consists of concurrent training, combining resistance and aerobic exercises. The aims are to enhance muscle strength and endurance, improve self-confidence, increase the ability to perform activities of daily living, maintain independence, and reduce cardiac demands during daily activities (as indicated by a lower heart rate-pressure product). Training intensity is monitored using heart rate (HR) sensors. Blood pressure, HR, peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂), perceived exertion (Modified Borg Scale - MBS), and other relevant events are recorded in a daily log.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Loulé Municipal Council

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Albufeira Municipal Council

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Universidade do Algarve

  collaborator OTHER

• Associação para o Desenvolvimento do Centro Académico de Investigação e Formação Biomédica do Algarv

  lead NETWORK

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-05-31

Primary Completion

2026-10-31

Completion

2026-12-31

Countries

• Portugal

Study Locations