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During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
Intradialytic exercise performed during dialysis sessions effectively improves physical function and shows high adherence. Following the 2018 Japanese clinical guideline, spearheaded by the Japanese Society of Renal Rehabilitation, exercise during hemodialysis has gained increasing clinical relevance and medical insurance funding in Japan, but only for the first 90 days, counting from the start of intra-dialysis exercise. As several new studies have emerged since the latest guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact and optimal duration of exercise interventions on physical function for longer than 12 weeks.
This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO CRD42025642273) following PRISMA-P guidelines. Randomized controlled trials involving adult hemodialysis patients who participated in structured exercise programs were identified through MEDLINE (PubMed) searches from March 2017 to November 2024. Two independent reviewers screened studies, extracted data, combined with the studies adopted in the previous guideline, and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool. Physical function outcomes included VO₂peak, VO2max, 6-minute walk distance, handgrip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery, gait speed, timed-up and go (TUG) test, and sit-to stand (STS) performance. Biochemical data such as hemoglobin and Kt/V were also included. Pooled mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the Hartung–Knapp–Sidik–Jonkman method under a mixed-effects model.
A total of 71 studies, including 43 newly identified publications since the meta-analysis for the last guideline, were evaluated. Risk of bias was generally low to moderate. Exercise interventions lasting ≥12 weeks significantly improved functional outcomes, including 6-minute walk distance (MD 52.4 m, 95% CI 35.4–69.3, p<0.01), VO₂peak (MD 3.5 ml/kg/min, 95% CI 1.96–5.04, p<0.01), and VO₂max (MD 5.29 ml/kg/min, 95% CI 2.36–8.22, p<0.01), hemoglobin (MD 0.94 g/dL, p=0.03) and Kt/V (MD 0.16, p<0.01). Shorter interventions (<12 weeks) produced significant gains for handgrip strength and STS. Across all study durations, improvements were observed in TUG, handgrip strength, and STS performance, whereas SPPB and gait speed showed non-significant trends.
This meta-analysis evaluating the effects of exercise for longer than 12 weeks clearly demonstrates a significant benefit for multiple physical performances. We suggest that this advantage be continuously supported by the Japanese national health insurance system, which at the moment only funds for 90 days.
