Do Exercise Interventions Improve Participation in Life Roles in Older Adults? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Marla K Beauchamp, Annemarie Lee, Rachel F Ward and 6 others
PMID 29029557WHAT IT FOUND
Exercise did not improve participation in life roles for older adults in 16 pooled trials.
Programs lasting 12 months or longer showed a small favorable effect, but overall there was no effect.
Key findings
01Pooled data from 16 studies including 2,132 participants showed no overall effect of exercise on participation.
02Longer programs lasting 12 months or more showed a favorable effect on participation in a subgroup of 6 studies with 894 participants.
03Analyses of pooled measures, including the Late-Life Disability Instrument limitation and frequency scales, the Frenchay Activities Index and the Reintegration to Normal Living Index, did not show significant effects.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 18 randomized trials with explicit participation measures were included, and 2 studies were excluded from the pooled analysis because data were missing or follow-up numbers were insufficient. The review's definition of participation may have excluded studies where participation was embedded in broader outcome measures. Interventions varied in type, setting, duration and components, and outcome measures were heterogeneous, which limits direct comparisons between studies. Thirteen studies were judged to have a high risk of performance bias because participants could not be masked, and selective outcome reporting was unclear in 13 studies. The positive long-duration result was a subgroup analysis of 6 studies with 894 participants, not the overall pooled effect. Only 1 author responded to requests for missing data.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that exercise improves participation because the long-duration subgroup was positive. The overall pooled result showed no effect, and the long-duration result came from a subgroup analysis of 6 studies.