Qian Geng, Haiting Zhai, Liming Wang, Hongwen Wei, Shilun Hou
Journal: Medicine 2023;102(27):e34254
PMID: 37417618
Sarcopenia is a prevalent age-related progressive systemic decline in muscle mass and muscle strength. Nutritional and exercise interventions are considered effective strategies for improving sarcopenia. This network meta-analysis looked at the efficacy of different interventions on muscle mass, strength, and functional performance in middle-aged and elderly patients with sarcopenia. This meta-analysis included thirty randomised controlled trials that used different nutritional and exercise interventions such as resistance exercises, aerobic exercises, complex exercises, nutrition, resistance exercises combined with nutrition, electric stimulation combined with nutrition, and complex exercises combined with nutrition. The results of this network meta-analysis found that resistance training improved muscle strength and appendicular muscle mass significantly. Resistance training combined with nutrition increased fat-free mass significantly. Both resistance training alone and resistance training combined with nutrition improved physical performance. Healthcare professionals can use the results of this study to understand the effects of resistance training or resistance training combined with nutrition for improving sarcopenia in older and middle-aged adults. However, further robust studies are required to determine the efficacy of each intervention strategy considered in this meta-analysis due to the high variability between the included studies.
BACKGROUND
In this study, a meta-analysis system was used to evaluate the effects of 7 methods of treating sarcopenia, including resistance exercise, aerobic exercise, mixed exercise, nutrition, resistance combined with nutrition, mixed exercise combined with nutrition, and electric stimulation combined with nutrition, and their effects on physical function.
METHODS
According to the PRISMA guidelines, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and other foreign databases, as well as Chinese databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wan Fang, the literatures of randomized controlled trials with different intervention measures were searched. ADDIS software was used to compare and rank the results of the network meta-analysis.
RESULTS
A total of 2485 patients were included in the 30 randomized controlled trial items. According to the clinical manifestations of sarcopenia, 7 different forms of exercise and nutrition interventions can improve muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical function; in terms of improving muscle strength, resistance exercise has the most significant effect on improving grip strength (MD = 2.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.06-4.07]); resistance exercise combined with nutrition lifting performed best in chair standing test (MD = -2.37, 95% CI [-4.73 to -0.33]). For muscle mass gains, resistance training increased appendicular skeletal muscle mass significantly (MD = 0.90, 95% CI [0.11-1.73]), while resistance exercise combined with nutrition significantly increased fat-free mass (MD = 5.15, 95% CI [0.91-9.43]). For physical activity, resistance training improved walk speed best (MD = 0.28, 95% CI [0.15-0.41]), and resistance exercise combined with nutrition in the best results were seen in the timed up and go test (MD = -2.31, 95% CI [-4.26 to -0.38]).
CONCLUSION
Compared with aerobic exercise, mixed exercise, nutrition, resistance combined with nutrition, mixed exercise combined with nutrition, and electric stimulation combined with nutrition, resistance exercise has more advantages in improving muscle mass, strength, and physical function performance. The clinical treatment of sarcopenia with resistance exercise intervention has a better curative effect.
Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
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