Exercise Is Essential For Overall Health Of HIV Patients

Antiretroviral treatment is key for patients with HIV, but what about exercise?

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing examine how many will soon begin receiving a home exercise plan from their doctors to help boost their overall health and wellness.

"People with HIV are developing secondary chronic illnesses earlier and more frequently than their non-HIV counterparts," said Allison Webel, PhD, RN, assistant professor of nursing, in a news release. "And heart disease is one for which they are especially at risk."

As it stands, an estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Study results show that those with HIV engaging in a range of moderate to intensive physical exercises can extremely increase a range of benefits, from lowering cholesterol to improving cognitive and mental health outcomes. Yet at this time, there are just two specific programs designed for people with HIV to exercise at home.

For the study, researchers from Case Western Reserve, Kent State University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center wanted to know whether patients were first exercising at home. They initially recruited 102 HIV patients to study their weekly exercise habits and discovered that while most did exercise, it wasn't quite enough.

Information in The Journal of the Association of Nurses In AIDS showed that women exercised an average of 2.4 hours a week while men exercised 3.5 hours a week, with predominant exercise involving walking, climbing stairs, lifting weights and stretching.

Yet when walking was removed, women only exercised about 1.1 hours. Men exercised a bit longer, but less strenuously than women did. All those involved were on antiretroviral therapies and were an average of 48 and predominantly African-American.

The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercises five days a week, or 25 minutes of vigorous exercises three days a week and moderate muscle strengthening at least two days a week.

Now that people know that many with HIV do exercise at home, the next step is to design a flexible plan that helps those at the initial stages stay on track as they progress to more intense stages of the illness to maximize health and keep the benefits of exercise fighting the illness.