Vivifrail review finds better test performance, with uncertainty about daily activities
Frail older adults improved on physical and cognitive tests compared with usual care, but results varied substantially and daily-living benefits remained uncertain.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Vivifrail-based training improved pooled measures of physical performance, grip strength, and cognition relative to usual care. However, the daily-living activity measure did not show a statistically significant benefit. The findings suggest changes in measured abilities, while leaving uncertainty about whether those changes translate into greater independence in everyday life.
Results differed substantially across studies, prompting the authors to urge caution. This abstract-based explanation cannot assess program duration or the designs of all included studies because those details are not reported.
What researchers found
Short Physical Performance Battery score
Vivifrail versus usual care; assessment timing was not reported. The standardized mean difference expresses the between-group difference in standard-deviation units; positive values favor Vivifrail.
What the program comparison showed
Vivifrail is described as a personalized exercise program with multiple components. The pooled results favored it over usual care on physical performance, grip strength, and cognitive function, but the magnitude of findings varied between studies.
Everyday independence remains unresolved
The Barthel Index result for daily activities was statistically uncertain. That does not prove the program has no effect on daily living, but it prevents treating improved test performance as demonstrated improvement in everyday independence.
The original publication
The effects of vivifrail-based multicomponent training on physical and cognitive function in frail older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Chen J, Liu H, Zhao H et al.
Front Physiol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40800730
- Record checked
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