SynthesisMedicine and science in sports and exercise2011
Systematic review and meta-analysis of skeletal muscle fatigue in old age.
Synthesis in Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of ageing on fatigue and endurance of the spinal extensor muscles: a systematic review and meta-analysis.GeroScience · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Progressive Resistance Training for Concomitant Increases in Muscle Strength and Bone Mineral Density in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Progressive Resistance Training Improves Torque Capacity and Strength in Mobility-Limited Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2019Trial
- Declines in motor transfer following upper extremity task-specific training in older adults.Experimental gerontology · 2019Trial
- Intensity-dependent effect of ageing on fatigue during intermittent contractions of the human calf muscle in males and females.European journal of applied physiology · 2015Trial
- Neuromuscular fatigue in young and older men using constant or variable resistance.European journal of applied physiology · 2013Trial
- Mechanisms underlying age-related changes in the human skeletal muscle bioenergetic system.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Oxidative Stress and Diminished Mitochondrial Proteostatic Reserve Are Linked to Enhanced mtUPR Initiation in Aged Mouse Muscle.Aging cell · 2026Article
- pH-Resolved ATP Synthesis in Skeletal Muscle: Concept, Implementation, and Assessment Using DynamicDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of acidosis and inorganic phosphate on CaAmerican journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2026Article
- Non-local Muscle Fatigue in Young and Middle-Aged Women following Fast-Paced Walking.International journal of exercise science · 2026Article
- Fatigue-induced alterations in the spatial distribution of lumbar erector spinae activity in older versus young adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Mechanisms for the age-related increase in fatigability of the elbow flexor muscles in healthy adults.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Cellular and molecular contractile function in aged human skeletal muscle is altered by phosphate and acidosis and partially reversed with an ATP analog.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2025Article
- The influence of workload on muscle fatigue, tissue properties, and postural stability in older and younger workers.PloS one · 2025Article
- Delayed neuromuscular fatigue recovery unveils reduced fatigue tolerance in elderly following maximal intermittent exercise.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Age-related effects of neuromuscular fatigue and acute recovery responses on maximal and rapid torque measures of the leg extensors and flexors.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Finger-specific effects of age on tapping speed and motor fatigability.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Article
- W Prime: Evidence-Based Proposal for a New Predictor of Gait Speed in Older Women.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
unlabelledDespite intense interest in understanding how old age may alter skeletal muscle fatigability, a quantitative examination of the impact of study design on age-related differences in muscle fatigue does not exist. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the differences in muscle fatigue between young and older adults, with specific examination of moderator variables suggested to contribute to discrepancies across studies: contraction intensity, contraction mode, duty cycle, fatigue index, sex, muscle group, and contraction type.
methodsThe standardized effect of age on muscle fatigue was computed for 37 studies (60 standardized effects). Standardized effects were coded as positive when less fatigue was reported in older individuals compared with young individuals.
resultsThe overall standardized effect of age on muscle fatigue was positive (0.56). In studies using dynamic contractions or using muscle power as the index of fatigue, the standardized effect was negative (-0.12 and -2.5, respectively). The standardized effect for all other moderator categories was positive (range = 0.09-0.90), indicating less fatigue in older adults under all other methodological conditions.
conclusionThis review provides the first quantitative analysis of the effect of study design on age-related differences in muscle fatigue. The results indicate that older individuals develop less muscle fatigue than young individuals, particularly during isometric contractions of the elbow flexor and knee extensor muscles. However, the results also suggest that older adults develop greater fatigue during dynamic contractions, particularly when the decline in power is assessed. Studies that verify this latter outcome are needed, as are studies designed to elucidate the mechanisms of fatigue.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.