Effect of Lifestyle Intervention in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease on Fitness and Immune Function

To assess the efficacy of a 6-month lifestyle intervention in patients with CKD, we plan to conduct a self-controlled clinical trial. 120 participants with CKD stage 3-5 will be enrolled. In addition, 20 participants with CKD stages 1 and 2 respectively, and 20 healthy subjects will be recruited; they will receive physical fitness and immune function assessment once; no intervention will be given. The participants with 3-5 CKD will go through three phases: 3-month control, 6-month intervention, and 3-month maintenance. No intervention will be performed in the control and maintenance phases. The lifestyle intervention will comprise care from a multidisciplinary team, including a nephrologist, nurse practitioner, physiatrist, and dietitian. The exercise training component will offer two options for the participants to choose from. First, a two-week individualized and supervised center-based exercise intervention followed by 6 months of a home-based program with refresher visits once per month. The participant will be requested to wear a heart rate recorder during home exercise. Second, persistent in-hospital training 2~3 times weekly for 6 months. Cyclic aerobic and resistance training will be performed. Assessment will be performed every three months and 5 times in total, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing, isokinetic quadriceps strength testing, hand grip strength, body composition analysis, Chinese Kidney Disease and Quality of Life questionnaire, self-recorded physical activity, and Mini Nutritional Assessment. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention in patients with CKD on physical fitness, quality of life, and immunity. It is hypothesized that the lifestyle intervention will elicit a significant benefit in the aforementioned parameters and will last until the maintenance phase.

Inclusion Criteria:patients with CKD in stages 3-5patients who are on HD for longer than 6 monthsunder the permission of their nephrologistadequately dialyzed (most recent Kt/V > 1.2) and stable during dialysis in the past 3 monthsExclusion Criteria:occurrence of hyperkalemia in the past 3 monthscomorbid medical, physical, and mental conditions that contraindicate exerciseunstable cardiac conditions (eg, unstable angina, heart failure or symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, etc.)disabling orthopedic and neuromuscular diseases