Comparison of the effect of aerobic and resistance training on quality of life of hemodialysis patients

Aims: Hemodialysis affects the patient's life in the long run so most hemodialysis patients have an inactive lifestyle. The poverty of movement is associated with a high risk of poor quality of life, hospitalization, and mortality among dialysis patients.  Regular exercise is recommended to correct mobility deficiency in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine and compare the effect of aerobic and resistance training on the quality of life of hemodialysis patients. Materials and methods: In this clinical trial study, 64 hemodialysis patients of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Yasouj who were eligible for inclusion in the study were selected by convenience sampling method. Then these individuals were randomly divided into three groups (aerobic exercise, resistance exercise and control). Patients in the aerobic exercise group underwent fixed bicycle aerobic exercise during 8 weeks of intervention during hemodialysis, and patients in the resistance exercise group underwent resistance training with theraband stretches and dumbbell. No training was given to the control group. Demographic questionnaire, Kidney Disease and Quality Of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF) was used immediately before and after the interventions. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 through one-way analysis of variance. Findings: Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean score of general quality of life (P = 0.8) and specific quality of life (P = 0.2) between the experimental and control groups. At the end of the intervention, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean of general and specific quality of life (P = 0.001) between each of the two groups of aerobic and resistance training with the control group. However, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of general and specific quality of life between the two groups of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise. Conclusion: Each of the aerobic and resistance exercises improved the quality of life of hemodialysis patients, but no statistically significant difference was observed based on the type of aerobic and resistance exercises.  Therefore, both aerobic and resistance exercises are recommended as complementary therapies due to their practicality, effectiveness, cheapness and availability, which can be performed by the individual.