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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of a 16-week concurrent exercise program on health-related quality of life in middle-aged women., Methods: A total of 150 middle-aged women from the FLAMENCO project (age range 45-60 years) were randomized into a counseling ( n  = 75) or an exercise ( n  = 75) group. The exercise group followed a 16-week (3 days/week, 60 min/session) concurrent exercise program (aerobic + resistance training). The counseling group attended conferences on a healthy lifestyle. Participants' health-related quality of life was assessed with the EuroQol plus, a visual analog scale and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), where greater values indicate a better health-related quality of life., Results: The visual analog scale increased by 9.0% in the exercise group, whereas it only increased by 3.5% in the counseling group ( p  = 0.040). The SF-36 physical function, physical role, bodily pain, vitality and emotional role increased by 5.5%, 11.3%, 10.8%, 9.6% and 8.9%, respectively, in the exercise group, whereas these only increased by 0.6%, decreased by 0.7% and increased by 1.4%, 3.8% and 0.6% in the counseling group (all p  < 0.05)., Conclusions: Our results suggest that a 16-week concurrent exercise program adapted for midlife women improved their health-related quality of life., Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02358109. Date of registration: 05/02/2015.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the association of physical fitness with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in mid-life women and to examine the potential independent association of physical fitness components with the physical and mental components from the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) in this population., Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 183 mid-life women from southern Spain who participated in the FLAMENCO project. Body composition was measured through an impedanciometer, a stadiometer, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Physical fitness was objectively measured with the Senior Fitness Test battery (cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, and dynamic balance/agility) plus handgrip strength (muscle strength). The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL of the participants., Results: All the physical fitness components were associated with the SF-36 physical function (all p  < 0.05) except for lower-body flexibility. The rest of the physical fitness components showed associations with most of the SF-36 dimensions (all p  < 0.05). Dynamic balance/agility and upper-body flexibility were independently associated with the SF-36 physical component scale, explaining 15% and 17% of the SF-36 physical component scale, respectively. Any physical fitness component showed independent associations with the SF-36 mental component scale., Conclusions: Greater physical fitness levels are associated with better HRQoL of mid-life women. Dynamic balance/agility and upper-body flexibility were the strongest independent physical fitness components associated with the SF-36 physical component scale.

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