Safety and Effectiveness of Long-Term Exercise Interventions in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Background: Physical exercise is beneficial to reduce the risk of several conditions associated with advanced age, but to our knowledge, no previous study has examined the association of long-term exercise interventions (≥ 1 year) with the occurrence of dropouts due to health issues and mortality, or the effectiveness of physical exercise versus usual primary care interventions on health-related outcomes in older adults (≥ 65 years old).

Objective: To analyze the safety and effectiveness of long-term exercise interventions in older adults.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis examining the association of long-term exercise interventions (≥ 1 year) with dropouts from the corresponding study due to health issues and mortality (primary endpoint), and the effects of these interventions on health-related outcomes (falls and fall-associated injuries, fractures, physical function, quality of life, and cognition) (secondary endpoints).

Results: Ninety-three RCTs and six secondary studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analyses (n = 28,523 participants, mean age 74.2 years). No differences were found between the exercise and control groups for the risk of dropouts due to health issues (RR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.95-1.17) or mortality (RR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.04), although a lower mortality risk was observed in the former group when separately analyzing clinical populations (RR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.95). Exercise significantly reduced the number of falls and fall-associated injuries, and improved physical function and cognition. These results seemed independent of participants' baseline characteristics (age, physical function, and cognitive status) and exercise frequency.

Conclusions: Long-term exercise training does not overall influence the risk of dropouts due to health issues or mortality in older adults, and results in a reduced mortality risk in clinical populations. Moreover, exercise reduces the number of falls and fall-associated injuries, and improves physical function and cognition in this population.