The effect of different exercise programs on sarcopenia criteria in older people: A systematic review of systematic reviews with meta-analysis

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2023-02, Vol.105, p.104868-104868, Article 104868
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Luis Fernando, Scariot, Estela Lopes, da Rosa, Luis Henrique Telles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Exercise; Female; Hand Strength; Humans; Male; Physical exercise; Resistance Training; Sarcopenia; Systematic review
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104868

•For older adults, being included in any physical training program is beneficial for sarcopenia criteria.•For strength and skeletal muscle mass, being on a resistance-emphasis training program seems to be best.•For physical performance, being part of a training program with multiple modalities, such as resistance, cardiorespiratory endurance and balance, seems to bring better results.•In ECRs with physical exercise interventions for older people, aiming to reduce sarcopenia rates, standards in training programs are lacking.•As well as there is a lack of standardization on the assessment of sarcopenia levels, although there are consensuses that standardizes this factor. To compare the results of different modalities of physical exercises on the sarcopenia diagnostic criteria in older people. Systematic review of systematic reviews. Search strategy included older people and sarcopenia MeSh, performed at mainly databases. Selected studies include older adults, submitted to physical training (Intervention Group: IG) compared to control groups (CG). Quantitative analyses with the inverse variance statistic method (random effects). The effect measures mean difference. Heterogeneity measured with Q-Test. 494 systematic reviews found. After screening, 5 were included (48 papers. n=3,877). Mean age: 74.02±6.1. 73.44% female. Mean interventions duration: 17.38 weeks (average: 2.56 weekly sessions). AMSTAR and PRISMA showed high methodological quality. Meta-analyses compared results of resistance training interventions (RTA) with other than resistance (Non-resistance Training interventions: NRTA). Handgrip strength, skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and gait speed showed statistically significant differences (SSD) favorable to IG. In chair stand test, RTA showed SSD favorable to the IG, and NRTA to CG. The timed-up-and-go do not showed SSD. The SMM and strength showed better results in RTA, although the confidence intervals (CI) overlap. Both valences can be trained with similar volume and training intensity, which can modify muscle volume and strength. Physical performance obtained better results in NRTA, even with CI overlap. For severely sarcopenic, training including more than one valence may be best. In sarcopenia diagnosis most studies do not take into account the consensuses of standardization, making hard the larger groups analysis. Being part of any training program can be beneficial for sarcopenia in older people, with resistance training better for strength and S