Home exercise showed selective benefits for older adults during the pandemic
A review of randomized trials found improvements in depressive symptoms and dynamic balance, while other assessed outcomes showed no detected effects.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review reported a small improvement in depressive symptoms and a large improvement in dynamic balance with home exercise among older adults during the pandemic. Other outcomes did not show detected effects. These findings support a limited result for symptoms and balance, while leaving uncertainty about the exercise programs, comparison conditions and durability of the changes.
The authors identified intervention-related methodological problems and concerns about risk of bias. The abstract does not describe the control conditions, program content, follow-up duration or which other outcomes showed no detected effects.
Symptoms and movement were separate outcomes
Depressive symptoms were measured as a mental-health outcome, while dynamic balance addressed physical performance. Better balance scores do not, by themselves, demonstrate fewer falls, and lower symptom scores do not establish recovery from a depressive disorder.
The setting limits interpretation
The review specifically examined programs delivered at home during the pandemic. Its abstract does not show whether the same effects would occur in other circumstances, or which exercise features accounted for the reported improvements.
The original publication
Effects of home-based exercise on the mental and physical health of older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Nunes Nóra de Souza L, Coimbra DR, Bueno JCA et al.
Aging Ment Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41027462
- Record checked
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