Abstract
Background: Resistance training is important for health aging. Resistance training program following exercise prescription principle is favorable to maximize health benefits. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of dynamic resistance training (DRT) intervention in the treatment of chronic diseases in old adults in terms of adherence to the Frequency (F), Intensity (I), Time (T), Type (T), Volume (V), and Progression (P) or the FITT-VP principle.
Methods: a systematic search was conducted from inception to March 2024 in the databases of PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Physiotherapy Evidence Database to identify eligible studies:(1) Old adults aged ≥ 65 years and a confirmed diagnosis of chronic diseases; and (2) randomized controlled studies (RCTs) that compared DRT as the primary intervention to usual care, wait list control, or sham exercise; and (3) DRT for a duration ≥ 4 weeks.
Results: Of the 9060 records screened, 92 RCTs with good quality that included 6733participants aged 70.0 ±4.2 years met the criteria. RCTs involved 13 different chronic diseases including cancer (n=10), cardiac disease (n=2), chronic kidney disease (n=2), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n=8), depression (n=5), hypertension (n=9), mild cognition impairment (MCI) and dementia (n=9), osteoarthritis (n=9), periphery artery disease (PAD) (n=s9), Parkinson’s disease (PD) (n=7), sarcopenia (n=11), stroke (n=4), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (n=7). Overall, DRT was performed mostly with supervision (n=74) at moderate to vigorous intensity for 2.7±0.7 sessions per week for 45.6 ± 14.3 min per session for 17.5±11.5 weeks with the adherence of 85.71%±10% (n=48). A DRT session consisted of 7.4 ± 3.2 exercises performed for 3.0±0.9 sets and 12.6±4.1 repetitions. Overall, only 14 studies met all FITT-VP components. DRT may improve cancer-related fatigue, muscle strength in COPD, depression symptoms in depression, cognition in MCI, lower-limbs muscle strength and physical performance in osteoarthritis, walking distance in PAD, gait performance in PD and muscle quality in sarcopenia.
Conclusions: Limited studies implementing DRT in the treatment of chronic diseases in old adults adhered to FITT-VP principle. Future studies should address the limitations to progress the application and effectiveness of DRT in treatment of different chronic diseases in old population.