Effects of non-pharmacological interventions on patients with sarcopenic obesity: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: Systematic evaluation of the improvement effect of non-pharmacological intervention on patients with sarcopenic obesity. METHODS: Wanfang, VIP, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), SinoMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase databases were searched systematically for randomized controlled trials (RCTS) and experimental studies of non-pharmacological interventions on patients with sarcopenic obesity. The retrieval period was from the establishment of the databases to October 31, 2022. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4. RESULTS: A total of 18 studies involving 1,109 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that non-pharmacological interventions improved patients’ body weight [mean difference, MD = −2.74, 95% CI (−4.79, −0.70), P = 0.009], body fat percentage [MD = −0.67, 95% CI (−0.96, −0.38), P<0.00001], grip strength [MD = 1.29, 95% CI (0.81, 1.77), P<0.00001], gait speed [MD = 0.05, 95% CI (0.03, 0.07), P<0.00001], and knee extension strength [MD = 2.56, 95% CI (1.30, 3.82), P<0.0001]. CONCLUSIONS: Non-pharmacological interventions can effectively improve the clinical symptoms and signs of patients with sarcopenic obesity. Dissemination of this information will be therapeutically useful. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration. The PROSPERO No. is CRD42023403341.