Physical activity intervention effect estimates for outcomes and certainty of evidence, for all interventions combined and by intervention category
| Category; outcome*† | No. of studies | No. of participants | SMD‡ (95% CI)§ | GRADE rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All interventions combined | ||||
| Mobility | 19 | 1724 | 0.60 (0.37 to 0.83) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Activities of daily living | 9 | 910 | 0.50 (0.15 to 0.84) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Cognitive function | 5 | 377 | 0.35 (0.09 to 0.61) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Quality of life | 6 | 500 | 0.60 (0.13 to 1.07) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Frailty | 4 | 244 | −1.29 (−2.22 to −0.36) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Falls | 4 | 1538 | RR 0.58 (0.36 to 0.93)¶ | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| 7 | 724 | RR 0.80 (0.51 to 1.26)¶ | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias, inconsistency and imprecision | |
| Fatigue level | 3 | 184 | −0.27 (−0.65 to 0.12) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Aerobic interventions | ||||
| Mobility | 1 | 36 | 0.71 (0.23 to 1.20) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Activities of daily living | 1 | 36 | 0.46 (−0.03 to 0.94) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Cognitive function | 1 | 36 | 0.15 (−0.50 to 0.80) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Fatigue level | 1 | 36 | −0.39 (−0.87 to 0.09) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Muscle-strengthening interventions | ||||
| Mobility | 6 | 722 | 0.57 (0.08 to 1.06) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Activities of daily living | 2 | 278 | 0.16 (−0.05 to 0.37) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Cognitive function | 1 | 45 | 0.45 (0.19 to 0.72) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Quality of life | 1 | 70 | 0.15 (−0.33 to 0.63) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Frailty | 1 | 45 | −0.20 (−0.79 to 0.39) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| 1 | 66 | RR 0.21 (0.10 to 0.43)¶ | Moderate; downgraded for imprecision | |
| Falls | 2 | 442 | RR 0.78 (0.37 to 1.65)¶ | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias, inconsistency and imprecision |
| Mobilization/rehabilitation interventions | ||||
| Mobility | 3 | 330 | 0.29 (0.17 to 0.42) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Activities of daily living | 1 | 182 | 0.48 (0.28 to 0.67) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Cognitive function | 1 | 116 | 0.12 (−0.10 to 0.34) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Falls | 1 | 184 | RR 0.88 (0.69 to 1.12)¶ | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| Mixed interventions | ||||
| Mobility | 9 | 636 | 0.75 (0.40 to 1.10) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Activities of daily living | 5 | 414 | 0.64 (0.004 to 1.27) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and inconsistency |
| Cognitive function | 2 | 180 | 0.62 (0.12 to 1.11) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Quality of life | 5 | 430 | 0.68 (0.16 to 1.21) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| Frailty | 3 | 199 | −1.57 (−2.57 to −0.57) | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias |
| 3 | 1472 | RR 0.72 (0.63 to 0.83)¶ | Moderate; downgraded for risk of bias | |
| Falls | 1 | 82 | −0.37 (−0.81 to 0.07) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| 1 | 98 | RR 0.62 (0.16 to 2.47)¶ | Low; downgraded for imprecision | |
| Fatigue level | 2 | −0.23 (−0.85 to 0.39) | Very low; downgraded for risk of bias, inconsistency and imprecision | |
| Use of health care services | 1 | 82 | −0.21 (−0.65 to 0.23) | Low; downgraded for risk of bias and imprecision |
| 1 | 98 | RR 0.52 (0.05 to 5.56)¶ | Low; downgraded for imprecision | |
Note: CI = confidence interval, GRADE = Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluations,22 RR = risk ratio, SMD = standardized mean difference.
↵* Mobility: gait speed, Timed Up and Go test, Sit-to-Stand test, balance test, Short Physical Performance Battery; cognitive function: Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination; falls: actual falls, fall rate, fall incidence; use of health care services: hospital admissions, emergency department visits.
↵† For aerobic interventions, there were no data for quality of life, frailty, falls or use of health care services; for muscle-strengthening interventions, there were no data for fatigue level or use of health care services; and for mobilization/rehabilitation interventions, there were no data for quality of life, frailty, fatigue level or use of health care services.
↵‡ Except where noted otherwise.
↵§ Large: ~0.8; medium: ~0.5; small: ~0.2.
↵¶ Dichotomous outcome.