Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (4): 997-1007.doi: 10.12307/2026.019

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Effect of exercise intervention in elderly individuals with sarcopenia and its comorbidities: a meta-analysis

Sun Jiahe, Shi Jipeng, Zhu Tianrui, Quan Helong, Xu Hongqi   

  1. School of Physical Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin Province, China
  • Received:2024-12-05 Accepted:2025-02-20 Online:2026-02-08 Published:2025-05-22
  • Contact: Xu Hongqi, PhD, Professor, Doctoral supervisor, School of Physical Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin Province, China
  • About author:Sun Jiahe, Master, School of Physical Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin Province, China
  • Supported by:
    National Social Science Foundation, No. 22BTY075 (to XHQ)

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: A great deal of evidence indicates that regular exercise can improve the health status of elderly individuals, including reducing overall and abdominal fat levels, increasing muscle mass and bone mineral density of the limbs, thereby preventing or delaying the onset of sarcopenia and its comorbidities. This study aims to determine the most reliable type, duration, and intensity of exercise interventions through meta-analysis to prevent, delay, and alleviate sarcopenia and its comorbidities in elderly individuals.
METHODS: Randomized controlled trials examining the effects of exercise interventions on elderly individuals with sarcopenia and its comorbidities were searched in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and WanFang databases. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies, and RevMan 5.3 software was employed for meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the effects of different exercise intervention protocols on various outcome measures. In addition, Stata 16.0 software was used to perform sensitivity analysis to assess the stability of the results, and funnel plots and Egger’s test were employed to evaluate publication bias, ensuring the comprehensiveness and reliability of the results.
RESULTS: (1) Sixteen studies involving 861 patients with sarcopenia and its comorbidities were included. (2) The meta-analysis results indicated that, compared with the control group, exercise significantly improved grip strength, knee muscle strength, appendicular skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle index, Timed Up and Go test results, gait speed, and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels (P < 0.05). However, the effect of exercise intervention on the sit-to-stand test was not significantly improved (P > 0.05). (3) Based on the results of subgroup analysis, it is recommended that elderly patients with sarcopenia and its comorbidities engage in exercise at least three times per week, with each session lasting no more than 30 minutes or exceeding 45 minutes, for at least 12 weeks. The exercise protocol should be flexibly adjusted according to the patient’s health status and individual needs.
CONCLUSION: Exercise interventions significantly improve muscle mass, muscle strength, physical function, and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels in elderly individuals with sarcopenia and its comorbidities, thereby enhancing their quality of life. However, further research is needed to validate these findings and optimize specific intervention protocols.

Key words: elderly, sarcopenia and comorbidities, exercise, randomized controlled trial, muscle mass, muscle strength, meta-analysis

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