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Thomas J. Bassler, MD
Centinela Hospital Inglewood, Calif

JAMA. 1979;242(4):322.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

In his editorial on the negative results of exercise rehabilitation, Samuel Vaisrub, MD (240: 1385, 1978), cites the randomized prospective study by Wilhelmsen et al¹ in which 158 exercising patients were compared with 157 sedentary controls. There were no significant differences in morbidity and mortality after four years of training. However, this study should be considered a failure of intervention not exercise, since there may not have been a significant difference in the amount of exercise in the two groups.

The exercising group was defined by the randomization, not by attendance or trainability. Of the 158 subjects, only 112 started the exercise program. Dropout rates were high. After one year, only 67 were actually exercising. This number decreased to 56 at two years and 33 at four years. The mortality for the exercising group was based on the total number of 158.

The 157 controls were also . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by John D. Archer, MD, Senior Editor.

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