As studies examining the hypertrophic effects of resistance training (RT) at the cellular level have produced inconsistent results, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate muscle fiber size before and after a structured RT intervention in older adults. A random-effects model was used to calculate mean effect size (ES) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Thirty-five studies were included (age range: 59.0-88.5 yr), and 44 and 30 effects were used to estimate RT impact on myosin heavy chain (MHC) I and II fiber size. RT produced moderate-to-large increases in MHC I (ES = +0.51, 95%CI +0.31 to +0.71; P < 0.001) and II (ES = +0.81, 95%CI +0.56 to +1.05; P < 0.001) fiber size, with men and women having a similar response. Age was negatively associated with change in muscle fiber size for both fiber types (MHC I: R2 = 0.11, β = -0.33, P = 0.002; MHC II: R2 = 0.10, β = -0.32, P = 0.04), indicating a less robust hypertrophic response as age increases in older adults. Unexpectedly, a higher training intensity (defined as percentage of one-repetition maximum) was associated with a smaller increase in MHC II fiber size (R2 = 15.09%, β = -0.39, P = 0.01). Notably, MHC II fiber subtypes (IIA, IIX, IIAX) were examined less frequently, but RT improved their size. Overall, our findings indicate that RT induces cellular hypertrophy in older adults, although the effect is attenuated with increasing age. In addition, hypertrophy of MHC II fibers was reduced with higher training intensity, which may suggest a failure of muscle fibers to hypertrophy in response to high loads in older adults.
Keywords: aging; cellular; exercise; hypertrophy; myosin.