ArticleBMJ open2026
Efficacy of combined nutrition and exercise interventions on muscle health and performance in patients after a stroke: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionStroke survivors experience profound skeletal muscle deterioration, typically losing 15%-20% of skeletal muscle mass in the affected limb within 4-6 months post-stroke. This deterioration accelerates functional decline, falls and secondary sarcopenia. While combined nutrition and exercise interventions have shown synergistic effects in other muscle-wasting conditions, the evidence for stroke remains fragmented. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of combined nutrition and exercise interventions on muscle health and performance in patients after stroke. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will systematically search PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection and CNKI from inception without language or date restrictions. Randomised controlled trials evaluating combined structured exercise and nutritional interventions in adults (aged ≥18 years) with stroke will be included. Primary outcomes are muscle strength and muscle mass; secondary outcomes include functional performance, balance, daily living habits, neurological function and muscle composition. Two independent reviewers will conduct screening, data extraction and outcome-level risk-of-bias assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomised trials. Hierarchical decision rules and robust variance estimation will be applied to address dependent effect sizes arising from multiple time points or concurrent outcome measures. Meta-analyses will be performed using random-effects models, with predefined criteria for switching to narrative synthesis under irreconcilable clinical or statistical heterogeneity. Pre-planned subgroup analyses will explore key moderators (eg, stroke chronicity, baseline nutritional status, exercise modality and supplement type). Certainty of evidence will be graded using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required as this review involves secondary analysis of published data. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO, CRD420261335163.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.