Restoring Physical Resilience: Consistent Functional and Sarcopenia Gains Across Two Vivifrail Cohorts
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Objectives
To evaluate change in physical function and probable sarcopenia following a 36-week community multicomponent exercise programme (Vivifrail model) across two consecutive cycles, and to assess the consistency of this change between cohorts.
Study design
Quasi-experimental, single-arm, repeated-measures service evaluation. Ninety-two older adults (2025–2026 cohort; mean age 75.9 years, 88.0% women) completed baseline and post-intervention assessments; an independent 2024–2025 cohort (n = 86) was analysed jointly for replication (n = 178).
Main outcome measures
Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score (primary); Timed Up and Go (TUG), handgrip strength, 6-metre walk time and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (secondary); probable sarcopenia (EWGSOP2), SPPB-based frailty category, and a fall-risk indicator computed identically in both cohorts.
Results
SPPB improved by a mean of 1.33 points (Cohen’s d = 0.96; p < .001), with concordant improvement in all four secondary outcomes (all q < .005). 72.8% reached the substantial minimal clinically important difference. Probable sarcopenia fell from 17.4% to 5.4% (p = .006), and frailty category shifted toward higher functional levels (p < .001). Effect sizes were consistent between cohorts for SPPB, handgrip and 6-metre walk; the Time×Cohort interaction was significant for TUG only. In the pooled sample, elevated fall risk fell from 19.7% to 11.2% (p = .002).
Conclusions
A 36-week multicomponent exercise programme was associated with clinically meaningful, reproducible improvement in physical function and a reduction in probable sarcopenia across two independent cohorts. The single-arm design precludes causal inference.
