Abstract
Aim: To characterize physical exercise programs for older adults in Latin America. Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. A search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between the years 2015 and 2020 was performed in the Scopus, MedLine and SciELO databases. Results: A total of 101 RCTs were included. A large percentage of the studies had an unclear risk of bias in the items: selection, performance, detection and attribution. Furthermore, a heterogeneous level of compliance was observed in the CERT items. A total sample of 5013 older adults (79% women) was included. 97% of the studies included older adults between 60–70 years, presenting an adherence to the interventions of 86%. The studies were mainly carried out in older adults with cardiometabolic diseases. Only 44% of the studies detailed information regarding the place of intervention; of these studies, 61% developed their interventions in university facilities. The interventions were mainly based on therapeutic physical exercise (89% of the articles), with a duration of 2–6 months (95% of the articles) and a frequency of 2–3 times a week (95% of the articles) with sessions of 30–60 min (94% of the articles) led by sports science professionals (51% of the articles). The components of physical fitness that were exercised the most were muscular strength (77% of the articles) and cardiorespiratory fitness (47% of the articles). Furthermore, only 48% of the studies included a warm-up stage and 34% of the studies included a cool-down stage. Conclusions: This systematic review characterized the physical exercise programs in older adults in Latin America, as well the most frequently used outcome measures and instruments, by summarizing available evidence derived from RCTs. The results will be useful for prescribing future physical exercise programs in older adults.
Highlights
The aging process of the population is advancing at an accelerated rate and is related to a longer life expectancy [1]
Current evidence supports the bio-psycho-social benefits of physical activity (PA) and physical exercise (PE), it is known that their practice decreases with age [5]
The evidence is clear that the benefits of PA and PE are independent of age and health status [11], it is interesting that only 16% of the studies included people over 80 years of age, which could be associated with the higher prevalence of comorbidities at that age [146]
Summary
The aging process of the population is advancing at an accelerated rate and is related to a longer life expectancy [1]. It is expected that the fraction of the world population over 65 years of age will increase from 9% to 16% by the year 2050 [2]. Current evidence supports the bio-psycho-social benefits of physical activity (PA) and physical exercise (PE), it is known that their practice decreases with age [5]. It is a strong predictor of physical disability [6], associated with an increased risk of mortality. Along these lines, the World Health Organization (WHO)
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