BACKGROUND: Exercise-based interventions prevent or delay symptoms and complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and are highly recommended for T2D patients; though with very low participation rates. Τelerehabilitation (TR) could act as an alternative to overcome the barriers preventing the promotion of T2D patients' well-being. AIM: Determine the effects of a six-week TR program on glycemic control, functional capacity, muscle strength, PA, quality of life and body composition in patients with T2D. DESIGN: A multicenter randomized, single-blind, parallel-group clinical study. SETTING: Clinical trial. POPULATION: Patients with T2D. METHODS: Thirty T2D patients (75% male, 60.1±10.9 years) were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IG) and a control group (CG) with no exercise intervention. IG enrolled in a supervised, individualized exercise program (combination of aerobic and resistance exercises), 3 times/week for 6 weeks at home via a TR platform. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), six-minute walk test (6MWT), muscle strength (Hand Grip Strength Test [HGS], 30-Second Chair Stand test [30CST] physical activity [IPAQ-SF]), quality of life (SF-36) and anthropometric variables were assessed. RESULTS: Two-way repeated-ANOVA showed a statistically significant interaction between group, time and test differences (6MWT, muscle strength) (V=0.33, F [2.17]=4.14, P=0.03, partial η2=0.22). Paired samples t-test showed a statistically significant improvement in HbA1c (Z=-2.7), 6MWT (Μean ∆=-36.9±27.2 m, t=-4.5), muscle strength (Μean ∆=-1.5±1.4 kg, t=-2.22). Similarly, SF-36 (mental health [Μean ∆=-13.3±21.3%], general health [Μean ∆=-11.4±16.90%]) were statistically improved only in IG. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that a 6-week supervised home-based TR exercise program induced significant benefits in patients with T2D, thus enabling telehealth implementation in rehabilitation practice as an alternative approach. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Home-based exercise via the TR platform is a feasible and effective alternative approach that can help patients with T2D eliminate barriers and increase overall rehabilitation utilization.

• MeSH
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 * MeSH
• Glycated Hemoglobin MeSH
• Single-Blind Method MeSH
• Quality of Life MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Hand Strength MeSH
• Telerehabilitation * MeSH
• Exercise Therapy MeSH
• Videoconferencing MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Multicenter Study MeSH
• Randomized Controlled Trial MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Glycated Hemoglobin MeSH

Introduction: The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a well-established tool for assessing submaximal functional capacity for cardiac patients, but space limitations challenge its implementation. Treadmill-based (TR) 6MWT is a promising alternative, but it requires patients to complete a familiarization test to adapt treadmill speed regulation. With the advancement of sensors, it is possible to automatically control speed for individual patients and thus overcome the space limitation or the speed control difficulty on the treadmill for each patient.Methods: This study investigated the validity and interchangeability of automated speed TR6MWT and standard hallway (HL) 6MWT. Eighteen patients were assessed at baseline of the 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program. Fourteen of them were assessed after rehabilitation. All patients performed three TR6MWTs and three HL6MWTs at baseline and one of each test after the program.Results: Patients well tolerated the TR6MWT. There was a strong correlation between both test methods (r = 0.79). However, patients performed significantly better in HL6MWT (514.8m ± 59.7m) than in TR6MWT (447.2 ± 79.1m) with 95% CI, 40.4-94.6m, p < 0.05. Both tests showed high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.86). The TR6MWT showed a valuable comparison of the effect of the cardiac rehabilitation program (20% increase, effect size 1.1) even though it is not interchangeable with the HL6MWT.Conclusion: The automated speed TR6MWT appears to be an acceptable tool with adequate validity, reliability, and responsiveness for assessing functional capacity in patients utilizing cardiac rehabilitation programs.

• Keywords
• Six minute walk test, automatized treadmill, cardiac rehabilitation, functional capacity, technology-assisted assessment,
• MeSH
• Walking physiology   MeSH
• Cardiac Rehabilitation * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Reproducibility of Results MeSH
• Walk Test MeSH
• Exercise Test methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH