Between weeks 12 and 24, step counts were maintained in the intervention group, and increased for the control group after receiving the intervention.
It was hypothesized that the primary outcome systolic blood pressure would be reduced to a greater extent in the mobile health-supported intervention group at 12-weeks and that this improvement would be better maintained in the intervention group for the remainder of the year-long trial.
The increase in steps observed from baseline appears to have been maintained in the intervention group (mean step count week 12: 9351, week 24: 9161, P = 0.65).
The effect was not short term, with step counts being maintained in the intervention group at the 24-week follow-up.
Muscle strength was also maintained in both the intervention and control groups.
Participants with confirmed newly diagnosed diabetes received 1 h of individual counseling focused on self-monitoring of blood glucose, were provided with meters and test strips and encouraged to monitor their glucose levels once daily, and were maintained in their randomized intervention groups.
However, as noted, this improvement was neither statistically significant nor maintained in control participants, whereas intervention participants evidenced enduring improvements in glycemic control at the 10-month follow-up point.
The risk of hip fracture is the age group- and gender-specific average annual risk in the post-intervention period, which assumes that the decreased risks from the intervention are maintained in the future.
Ecosystem stability is defined as variation in structure and condition (Eyre et al. 2011) within the historical range of variability (Suding and Hobbs 2009), and a manageable habitat is defined as that which can be maintained in a stable condition by intervention that is both practical and economical (Grant 2006).
The assessment at 6 months follow-up is to determine the long-term effects and whether differences observed directly following the intervention are maintained in the exercise group when the booklet of standard physical activity recommendations is supplemented with the home exercise prescription.
