Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2025; 15(6): 105855
Published online Jun 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i6.105855
Exercise rehabilitation based on medical care-family integration in older patients with chronic heart failure and psychological problems
Can Ao, Shu Hu, Lu Zhan
Can Ao, Department of Sports, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Shu Hu, Department of Geriatrics, Chongqing Mental Health Center, Chongqing 401147, China
Lu Zhan, Department of Neurology/Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing 400060, China
Author contributions: Ao C: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, software, visualization, writing-original draft, writing-review, & editing; Hu S: methodology, supervision; Zhan L: conceptualization, resources, supervision, validation, writing-original draft, writing-review, & editing.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the First Affiliated Hospital of the Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College.
Informed consent statement: The requirement for informed consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Data used in this study were obtained from the corresponding author.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lu Zhan, Department of Neurology/Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, No. 301 Nancheng Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400060, China. luzhan_cqsixthhosp@163.com
Received: February 26, 2025
Revised: March 25, 2025
Accepted: April 18, 2025
Published online: June 19, 2025
Processing time: 92 Days and 2.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

As the aging process has accelerated, psychological problems in older patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have become increasingly prominent, significantly affecting their quality of life and prognosis. This study explored a sports rehabilitation program based on the concept of medical care-family integration to provide patients with comprehensive and effective rehabilitation interventions and improve their health status.

AIM

To explore the effects of medical care-family integration-based exercise rehabilitation in older patients with CHF and psychological problems.

METHODS

Data from 118 older patients with CHF and psychological problems were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into conventional (n = 56) and exercise rehabilitation groups (n = 62). The results of the 6-min walking distance (6 MWD), N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire (MLHFQ), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Athens insomnia scale (AIS) were compared before and after intervention.

RESULTS

After intervention, there were significant differences in the number of patients with depression and anxiety between the two groups. There was also a significant difference in the distribution of sleep disorders. The PHQ-9 score, GAD-7 score, AIS score, NT-proBNP value, LVEDD value, physical field, emotional field, other fields, and MLHFQ total scores were lower in the exercise rehabilitation group compared to the conventional rehabilitation group, while the 6 MWD and LVEF values were higher compared to the conventional rehabilitation group (P < 0.05). During the intervention period, the readmission rate of the exercise rehabilitation group (1.61%) was significantly lower than that of the conventional rehabilitation group (12.50%) (χ2 = 3.930, P = 0.047).

CONCLUSION

This exercise rehabilitation program with medical care-family integration can improve cardiac function and quality of life, alleviate psychological problems, and reduce readmission rates in older patients with CHF.

Keywords: Medical care; Family integration; Exercise rehabilitation; Chronic heart failure; Psychological problems

Core Tip: This study explored an exercise rehabilitation program based on the concept of medical care-family integration for older patients with chronic heart failure and psychological problems. Compared to conventional rehabilitation, this approach significantly improved cardiac function, reduced anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, enhanced quality of life, and decreased readmission rates. By integrating medical support with active family involvement, this model offers an innovative and effective rehabilitation strategy for clinical practice.