Effects of multicomponent exercise on the muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance of frail older adults: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effects of multicomponent exercise on the muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance of frail older adults living in the community and provide the latest evidence from published randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Background: The number of frail older adults is rapidly increasing. Previous studies have reported that multicomponent exercise is one of the best types of intervention for increasing muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance for frail older adults. However, due to the small sample size and lack of evidential support, a meta-analysis of RCTs remains necessary.

Methods: RCTs reporting the effects of multicomponent exercise on the muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance of frail older adults, published in English, were retrieved from five electronic databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library available from their inception up to January 2021. RevMan5.3 software was adopted for statistical analysis. This study followed the PRSIMA checklist.

Results: A total of 10 articles and 667 patients were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed that multicomponent exercise could improve the muscle strength [MD = 2.46, p = .007], muscle endurance [MD = 2.16, p = .03] and balance [MD = .39, p = .03] of frail older adults, and subgroup analysis showed the muscle endurance of frail older adults was significantly improved as the intervention lasted for >12 weeks.

Conclusions: RCTs provided in this study show the latest evidence that multicomponent exercise can improve the muscle strength, endurance and balance of frail older adults and that long-duration (>12weeks) multicomponent exercise is more effective for improving muscle endurance.

Relevance to clinical practice: Multicomponent exercise contributes to improving the muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance of frail older adults, so it can be considered as a complement to the physical function management programme for frail older adults.

Keywords: balance; frail older adults; meta-analysis; multicomponent exercise; muscle endurance; muscle strength.