Effects of digital-based interventions on the outcomes of the eligibility criteria for sarcopenia in healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hyuma Makizako; Daijo Shiratsuchi; Shoma Akaida; Mana Tateishi; Keisuke Maeda; Katsuya Iijima; Hiroyuki Shimada; Tatsuro Inoue; Minoru Yamada; Ryo Momosaki; Hidetaka Wakabayashi; Koichi Yamamoto; Hidenori Arai

doi:10.1016/j.arr.2025.102663

Effects of digital-based interventions on the outcomes of the eligibility criteria for sarcopenia in healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ageing Res Rev. 2025 Jan 13:102663. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2025.102663. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan. Electronic address: makizako@health.nop.kagoshima-u.ac.jp.
² Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan.
³ Department of Preventive Gerontology, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology of Aging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
⁵ Nutrition Therapy Support Center, Aichi Medical University Hospital, Aichi, Japan.
⁶ Institute of Gerontology, Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo.
⁷ Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
⁸ Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Geriatric and General Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan.
¹² National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.

PMID: 39814237
DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2025.102663

Abstract

Background: While the digital-based interventions targeting older adults to prevent age-related health problems such as sarcopenia have grown rapidly in recent years, there are no meta-analyses indicating synthesized pooled estimates.

Objective: To examine the effects of digital-based interventions on sarcopenia-related measures, including physical performance and muscle mass, in healthy community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Systematic searches were performed on MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library for eligible studies published up to 31 March 2023. The mean difference with a 95% confidence interval was calculated. Methodological quality was assessed using Cochrane RoB 2.0. The GRADE criteria were used to assess evidence certainty.

Results: Thirteen randomized controlled trials with 742 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Handgrip strength, usual walking speed, five times sit-to-stand performance, and 30-second chair stand test showed significant enhancements with the digital-based interventions. However, there were no significant effects of digital-based interventions in appendicular muscle mass. The overall evidence certainty was low.

Conclusions: Although digital-based interventions for healthy older adults are effective in improving physical functions, evidence certainty is low. Additional randomized controlled trials are thus required to further validate the findings.

Keywords: digital; handgrip strength; meta-analysis; muscle mass; sarcopenia; walking speed.

Publication types

Review