The effects of inspiratory muscle strengthening on MIP and quality of life of elderly nursing home patients

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of inspiratory muscle strengthening on maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and on quality of life among elderly nursing home patients. The study population was divided in two groups: experimental group- EG (n=21, 76.48 2.12 years) and control group- CG (n=13, 75.69 2.26 years). The World Health Organization Quality of Life Group (WHOQOL-100) questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life of the subjects. A Manovacuometer (analogical, with an operational interval of - 150 to + 150 cmH2O; Critical Med/USA-2002) was used to evaluate MIP. The study protocol consisted of a gradual increase in workload (50%-100%); the sessions lasted 20 minutes and were composed of 7 series of strengthening (2 minutes each) with a 1-minute interval between the series, 3 times a week for 10 weeks. Variance analysis of multivariate repeated measurements demonstrated significant differences only for MIP between CG (32,69 +/- 17,03 cmH2O versus 23,08 +/- 10,71 cmH2O) and EG (31,67 +/- 11,11 cmH2O versus 55,24 +/- 23,26 cmH2O), and the latter was higher than the former (p= 0,00000). Therefore, we concluded that inspiratory muscle strengthening led to an increase in MIP that did not improve quality of life. However, further studies should be done in this population to validate a quality of life questionnaire specific for the elderly.