The comparative effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine exercise therapies in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment: A protocol for a network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly is a health problem worldwide. Several clinical trials indicated that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) exercise therapies can effectively improve MCI, such as Tai Ji, Baduan jin exercise, Liuzi jue, and finger exercise. However, there is still controversy over which therapy is the best for elderly MCI patients. In this study, we aimed to systematically evaluate and compare the effectiveness and safety of these 4 TCM exercise therapies in elderly patients with MCI. METHODS: The Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wangfang database, and Chinese Biomedical Medicine will be comprehensively searched to collect all randomized controlled trials which included elderly participants with MCI receiving TCM exercise therapies through July 2020. Two reviewers will independently screen and evaluate each included study and extract the outcome indexes. ADDIS 1.16.8 software will be used for the network meta-analysis and STATA 14 software will be used for drawing network evidence plots and funnel plots. RESULTS: We will use the Bayesian statistical model to conduct a network meta-analysis to rank the effectiveness and safety of these 4 interventions, and use the GRADE approach to interpret the results. CONCLUSION: This network meta-analysis will find out the optimal treatment plan for MCI and provide evidence-based bias for clinical treatments decision-making. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202070006.