Self-related quality of life of elderly submitted to a 12-week aquatic training program

Background: The aging process commonly affects the quality of life of the elderly. Group physical exercise appears as a conservative and cheap method to improve the quality of life in this population. Aim: To evaluate the self-reported quality of life in a group of elderly submitted to a 12-week aquatic training program. Methods: Twenty-eight elderly (66.0 +/- 5.8 years, 29.6 +/- 3.6 kg/m (2)) were enrolled and submitted to a 12-week aquatic training program (02 times/week, 01 hour/session). The quality of life in the elderly was assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older Persons (WHOQOL-OLD). Results: The aquatic training program promoted significant improvements in overall quality of life score (baseline vs 12-wk: 83.2 +/- 8.5 vs 86.6 +/- 10.3, p = 0.02) and in aspects related to "past, present and future activities" (baseline vs 12-wk: 79.9 +/- 16.4 vs 85.7 +/- 16.6, p = 0.04) and "death and dying" (baseline vs 12-wk: 74.3 +/- 23.0 vs 83.0 +/- 20.1, p = 0.04). None of the other aspects that assess the quality of life presented improvement after the aquatic training program, except for the aspect related to "social participation" which showed a tendency to improve after 12 weeks of an aquatic training program (baseline vs 12-wk: 74.8 +/- 19.1 vs 77.7 +/- 21.5, p = 0.05). Also, an improvement in the waist-hip ratio of the elderly was observed after the aquatic training program (baseline vs 12-wk: 0.90 +/- 0.07 vs 0.89 +/- 0.08; p < 0.05). Conclusion: An aquatic training program performed twice a week for 12 weeks improved self-related quality of life in an elderly population.