Effect of combined physical and cognitive intervention on fear of falling in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2024-02, Vol.117, p.105173-105173, Article 105173
• Main Authors: Hu, Yue, Wang, Kun, Gu, Jiaxin, Huang, Zhixuan, Li, Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Cognition; cognitive therapy; Exercise; exercise therapy; Fear; fear of falling; Humans; older adults; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; systematic review
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2023.105173

•The combined physical and cognitive intervention had a small to moderate immediate effect on FOF among older adults compared with blank/placebo/usual control.•The combined intervention can provide additional immediate benefits than the single cognitive intervention.•The immediate effect of combined interventions is not preferable to the single physical intervention.•No effect was found in a long-term retention effect of combined interventions on reducing FOF. Fear of falling (FOF) is common among older adults. Currently, physical exercise, cognitive intervention, and combined physical and cognitive intervention have been proven to be effective interventions. However, whether combined interventions can provide additional benefits than single interventions remains unclear. Thus, the systematic and meta-analysis was conducted to explore the immediate and retention effects of combined physical and cognitive interventions, in comparison with a single intervention. Randomized controlled trials of combined interventions on FOF in older adults were searched using Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from inception to March 20, 2023. The risk of bias in included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool. Two independent researchers extracted the data using predetermined criteria. 31 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. For the immediate post-intervention effect, the combined intervention was more effective than the blank/placebo/conventional intervention and the single cognitive intervention, while no additional effect was observed compared with the single physical intervention. Moreover, no additional follow-up retention effects were found when comparing the combined intervention with the single intervention. Combined interventions had positive immediate effects on FOF in older adults, compared with single cognitive intervention, while combined interventions had a similar effect as a single physical intervention. More well-designed studies are required to explore the additional benefits of combined interventions compared with a single intervention and to investigate the follow-up effects of combined interventions.