Abstract 2090: Health Related Quality of Life Outcomes of Therapeutic Life Style Modification Program for Women with Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MetS), with associated increased CHD risk, is highly prevalent among postmenopausal women in Korea. Although therapeutic lifestyle modification (TLM) has been recommended as a cornerstone therapy, studies investigating the effects of TLM on health related quality of life (HRQOL) are limited. Purpose : This study was to evaluate HRQOL outcomes of a six-month TLM in Korean women with Mets. Methods: A randomized controlled design was used. Fifty four women (mean age of 63.2 y) with Mets were recruited from community health centers and randomly assigned to the intervention (N=31) or control (N=23) groups. The subjects in the intervention group participated in a supervised weekly TLM session for six months. The TLM program was consisted of health monitoring, education, aerobic exercise (40-min/session, 200 Kcal/day), and a low calorie diet with low carbohydrate (≈1300Kcal/d). Those in the control group received a booklet about MetS and were instructed to maintain their usual diet and activities. HRQOL was measured using the MOS SF-36 at before, during (month 3), completion (month 6), and after completion of the TLM program (month 12). Mixed-model repeated measures ANCOVA was used to evaluate HRQOL outcomes. Results : There were significant group by time interactions for general health ( P = .043) and vitality ( P = .012). Both general health (mean 23-point change) and vitality scores (mean 16-point change) greatly improved in the treatment group over 6 months of TLM, compared with control group. However, the improvement of the general health and vitality in the experimental group was not sustained at month 12. There were significant treatment main effects (all P < .05) for the remaining SF-36 subscale scores. Conclusion : A systematic TLM program may be effective strategy for improving HRQOL in postmenopausal women with MetS.