Effects of different types of exercise on hypertension in middle-aged and older adults: a network meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: This study mainly used network meta-analysis to explore the effect of different types of exercise on hypertension in middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: Several databases (e.g., PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) were used to search for randomized controlled trials on the effects of different types of exercise on hypertension in middle-aged and older adults.

Results: A total of 19 articles and 2,385 participants were included in the analysis. Aerobic exercise interventions [MD = -9.254, P < 0.05, 95% CI (-14.810, -3.698)] and static exercise interventions [MD = -10.465, P < 0.05, 95% CI (-18.135, -2.794)] had a significant effect on the improvement in systolic blood pressure (SBP). For diastolic blood pressure (DBP), aerobic exercise interventions [MD = -1.4096; P > 0.05, 95% CI (-8.2395, 5.4201)] and static exercise interventions [MD = -4.5206, P > 0.05, 95% CI (-14.0436, 5.0023)] were not statistically significant. The results of the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) showed that static exercise improved hypertension better than aerobic exercise.

Conclusion: Aerobic exercise and static exercise have been shown to have a good effect on the improvement of hypertension, but the effect on DBP is not significant.

Keywords: aerobics; hypertension; middle-aged and older adults; static exercise; types of exercise.