SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2026
Traditional Chinese exercises on muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical function in older adults with sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of Traditional Chinese Exercises (TCEs) on muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical function in older adults with sarcopenia. Methods: Systematic electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang Database from inception to March 1, 2026, to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy of TCEs in older adults with sarcopenia. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4, and effect sizes were expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Seventeen studies involving 984 participants were included. The meta-analysis revealed that TCEs were associated with improvements in handgrip strength (HS) (MD = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.94-1.32, Conclusion: TCEs may offer potential benefits for improving muscle strength, mass, and physical function in older adults with sarcopenia. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of studies, methodological limitations (e.g., lack of blinding), small sample sizes, and clinical heterogeneity across the included trials. High-quality, large-scale RCTs are warranted to confirm these findings and strengthen the evidence base. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261343216, identifier: CRD420261343216.
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