Multicomponent exercise as a strategy for preventing frailty in older adults: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56200/mentor.v5i15.12831Keywords:
Multicomponent Exercise, Frailty, Older Adults, Systematic ReviewAbstract
Frailty is one of the main geriatric syndromes associated with functional decline, falls, disability, and loss of independence in older adults. The objective was to synthesize the available evidence on the effectiveness of multicomponent exercise in preventing or reducing frailty in older adults. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, using searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, with methodological assessment using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale for randomized studies, the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool for non-randomized studies, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system for the certainty of the evidence. Twenty studies were included that showed a generally favorable effect of multicomponent exercise on frailty, muscle strength, balance, gait, and functional ability; however, methodological quality was heterogeneous, and the certainty of the evidence was predominantly low. The results were interpreted by considering the identified risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, and imprecision; it was concluded that multicomponent exercise constitutes a promising strategy for managing frailty in older adults, although multicenter studies with standardized protocols are needed to strengthen the evidence.
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