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Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Size and Strength in Very Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

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Abstract

Background

Effects of resistance training on muscle strength and hypertrophy are well established in adults and younger elderly. However, less is currently known about these effects in the very elderly (i.e., 75 years of age and older).

Objective

To examine the effects of resistance training on muscle size and strength in very elderly individuals.

Methods

Randomized controlled studies that explored the effects of resistance training in very elderly on muscle strength, handgrip strength, whole-muscle hypertrophy, and/or muscle fiber hypertrophy were included in the review. Meta-analyses of effect sizes (ESs) were used to analyze the data.

Results

Twenty-two studies were included in the review. The meta-analysis found a significant effect of resistance training on muscle strength in the very elderly [difference in ES = 0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50, 1.44; p = 0.001]. In a subgroup analysis that included only the oldest-old participants (80 + years of age), there was a significant effect of resistance training on muscle strength (difference in ES = 1.28; 95% CI 0.28, 2.29; p = 0.020). For handgrip strength, we found no significant difference between resistance training and control groups (difference in ES = 0.26; 95% CI − 0.02, 0.54; p = 0.064). For whole-muscle hypertrophy, there was a significant effect of resistance training in the very elderly (difference in ES = 0 30; 95% CI 0.10, 0.50; p = 0.013). We found no significant difference in muscle fiber hypertrophy between resistance training and control groups (difference in ES = 0.33; 95% CI − 0.67, 1.33; p = 0.266). There were minimal reports of adverse events associated with the training programs in the included studies.

Conclusions

We found that very elderly can increase muscle strength and muscle size by participating in resistance training programs. Resistance training was found to be an effective way to improve muscle strength even among the oldest-old.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Health and Sport (IHES), Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

    Jozo Grgic, Alessandro Garofolini & Zeljko Pedisic

  2. School of Health Sciences, Human Services and Nursing, Lehman College, Bronx, USA

    John Orazem

  3. Fitness Academy, Zagreb, Croatia

    Filip Sabol

  4. Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Filip Sabol

  5. Department of Health Sciences, Lehman College, Bronx, USA

    Brad J. Schoenfeld

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  1. Jozo Grgic
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Correspondence to Jozo Grgic.

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Conflict of interest

Jozo Grgic, Alessandro Garofolini, John Orazem, Filip Sabol, Brad J. Schoenfeld and Zeljko Pedisic have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

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The datasets generated and analyzed during the current systematic review and meta-analysis are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author Contributions

JG conceived the idea for the review. JG and AG conducted the study selection quality assessment. JG and FS conducted the data extraction. JO performed the statistical analysis. JG drafted the initial manuscript. All authors contributed to data interpretation, writing of the manuscript, and its revisions.

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Grgic, J., Garofolini, A., Orazem, J. et al. Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Size and Strength in Very Elderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Sports Med 50, 1983–1999 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01331-7

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