SynthesisTrials2021
Recruitment and retention rates in randomised controlled trials of exercise therapy in people with multimorbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Trials, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 5 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Strategies for recruitment of adolescent girls into physical activity programmes: a systematic review and regression analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Retention rates and reasons for non-retention in exercise oncology trials in the post-treatment phase-a systematic review.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Safety and feasibility of exercise interventions in patients with hematological cancer undergoing chemotherapy: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Retention in RCTs of physical rehabilitation for adults with frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Trials · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring a Facilitator-Enabled Flexible iSupport for Dementia Program: An Internal Pilot Mixed-Methods Study.Nursing open · 2026Trial
- Exercise therapy and self-management support for individuals with multimorbidity: a randomized and controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Mobile health delivered physical activity after mild stroke or transient ischemic attack: Is it feasible and acceptable?International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society · 2025Trial
- Impact of resistance training for lowering blood pressure in older adults.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Article
- Community-based, supervised, group exercise for people living with chronic conditions and multimorbidity: a cohort study.Age and ageing · 2026Article
- Use of advance letters to enhance participant retention in a clinical trial.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2026Article
- Feasibility of a mobile application to track longitudinal pain outcomes after epidural joint injections.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- The Influence of Mat Pilates Training on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Postmenopausal Women with Single or Multiple Cardiometabolic Diseases.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Strategies to support the mental health and well-being of health and care workforce: a rapid review of reviews.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Factors Influencing Recruitment, Retention, and Adherence Rates in Exercise Interventions in ESKD: A Scoping Review.Kidney medicine · 2025Article
- The views and experiences of people with myeloma referred for autologous stem cell transplantation, who declined to participate in a physiotherapist-led exercise trial: a qualitative study.Physiotherapy theory and practice · 2024Article
- The overlap between randomised evaluations of recruitment and retention interventions: An updated review of recruitment (Online Resource for Recruitment in Clinical triAls) and retention (Online Resource for Retention in Clinical triAls) literature.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2024Review
- Article
- Does Osteopathic Heart-Focused Palpation Modify Heart Rate Variability in Stressed Participants with Musculoskeletal Pain? A Randomised Controlled Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimTo quantify recruitment, retention and differential retention rates and associated trial, participant and intervention characteristics in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of exercise therapy in people with multimorbidity. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL from 1990 to April 20, 2020. STUDY SELECTION: RCTs including people with multimorbidity comparing exercise therapy with a non-exposed comparator group reporting at least one of the following outcomes: physical function, health-related quality of life, depression symptoms, or anxiety symptoms. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Recruitment rates (proportion of people randomised/proportion of people eligible), retention rates (proportion of people providing the outcomes of interest/proportion randomised) and differential retention rates (difference in proportion of people providing the outcomes in the intervention group and comparator group) were calculated. Meta-analysis using a random-effects model was used to estimate pooled proportions. Methodological quality was assessed using Cochrane ´Risk of Bias tool 2.0´ for individual studies, and the GRADE approach was used to assess the overall quality of the evidence.
resultsTwenty-three RCTs with 3363 people were included. The pooled prevalence for recruitment rate was 75% (95%CI 66 to 84%). The pooled prevalence for retention rate was 90% (95%CI 86 to 94%) at the end of the intervention (12 weeks; interquartile range (IQR) (12 to 12)). Meta-regression analyses showed that increasing age and including a higher proportion of people with hypertension was associated with lower retention rates. Retention rates did not differ between the intervention and comparator groups. The overall quality of the evidence was deemed very low.
conclusionThree in four eligible people with multimorbidity were randomised to RCTs using exercise therapy, of which nine out of 10 provided end of treatment outcomes with no difference seen between the intervention and comparison groups. However, the results must be interpreted with caution due to large differences between the included studies.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov CRD42020161329 . Registered on 28 April 2020.
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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.