Background regular physical exercise is essential to maintain or improve functional capacity in older adults. Multimorbidity, functional limitation, social barriers and currently, coronavirus disease of 2019, among others, have increased the need for home-based exercise (HBE) programmes and digital health interventions (DHI). Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of HBE programs delivered by DHI on physical function, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) improvement and falls reduction in older adults. Design systematic review and meta-analysis. Participants community-dwelling older adults over 65 years. Intervention exercises at home through DHI. Outcomes measures physical function, HRQoL and falls. Results twenty-six studies have met the inclusion criteria, including 5,133 participants (range age 69.5 +/- 4.0-83.0 +/- 6.7). The HBE programmes delivered with DHI improve muscular strength (five times sit-to-stand test, -0.56 s, 95% confidence interval, CI -1.00 to -0.11; P = 0.01), functional capacity (Barthel index, 5.01 points, 95% CI 0.24-9.79; P = 0.04) and HRQoL (SMD 0.18; 95% CI 0.05-0.30; P = 0.004); and reduce events of falls (odds ratio, OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.93; P = 0.008). In addition, in the subgroup analysis, older adults with diseases improve mobility (SMD -0.23; 95% CI -0.45 to -0.01; P = 0.04), and balance (SMD 0.28; 95% CI 0.09-0.48; P = 0.004). Conclusion the HBE programmes carried out by DHI improve physical function in terms of lower extremity strength and functional capacity. It also significantly reduces the number of falls and improves the HRQoL. In addition, in analysis of only older adults with diseases, it also improves the balance and mobility.

Background: Given the beneficial effects of exercise in different populations and the close relationship between healthy ageing and sleep quality, our objective was to determine if physical exercise delivered through a structured program improves sleep quality in older adults. Methods: Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials (CENTRAL) were searched to 15 January 2023. Studies that applied physical exercise programs in older adults were reviewed. Two independent reviewers analysed the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of evidence. Results: Of the 2599 reports returned by the initial search, 13 articles reporting on 2612 patients were included in the data synthesis. The articles used interventions based on yoga (n = 5), multicomponent exercise (n = 3), walking (n = 2), cycling (n = 1), pilates (n = 1), elastic bands (n = 1), and healthy beat acupunch (n = 1). In the intervention group, we found significant improvement in Pittsburgh sleep quality index of −2.49 points (95% CI −3.84 to −1.14) in comparison to the control group (p = 0.0003) and sleep efficiency measured with objective instruments (MD 1.18%, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.50%, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Our results found that physical exercise programs in older adults improve sleep quality and efficiency measured with objective instruments.

(1) Background: The work-to-retirement transition involves a process of psychologically and behaviorally distancing oneself from the workforce that is often accompanied by other social changes, which can influence health and well-being. However, research on interventions targeting the work-to-retirement transition to improve health status is limited. Our objective was to summarize and describe interventions aiming to improve well-being across the retirement transition; (2) Methods: We conducted a scoping review following the methodological framework described by Arksey and O’Malley; the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines as well as the PRISMA-ScR statements; we systematically searched articles and gray literature to identify interventions and policies that aimed to improve well-being across the retirement transition. (3) Results: 15 publications were included, which comprised both experimental designs (n = 10) and systematic reviews (n = 5). (4) Conclusions: More research on how to promote overall well-being during the work-to-retirement transition is needed. The results of this scoping review show that most reported interventions address one single lifestyle behavior, and that relevant social determinants of health have been barely considered in their design. Future investigations need to consider vulnerable groups and country-specific structural conditions. Adopting a patient and public involvement approach will contribute to developing interventions that address the significant needs of those in the transition to retirement.

Background: This is the second part of a large spectrum systematic review which aims to identify and assess the evidence for the efficacy of non-pharmacological acupuncture techniques in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The results of all techniques except for filiform needle are described in this publication. Methods: Eleven different databases were screened for randomised controlled trials up to June 2019. Authors in pairs extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias independently. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the meta-analysis. Results: Thirty-three trials met the inclusion criteria, which involved the follow techniques: AcuTENS (7 trials), moxibustion (11 trials), acupressure (7 trials), ear acupuncture (6 trials), acupressure and ear acupuncture combined (1 trial) and cupping (1 trial). Due to the great heterogeneity, only 7 meta-analysis could be performed (AcuTENS vs sham on quality of life and exercise capacity, acupressure vs no acupressure on quality of life and anxiety and ear acupuncture vs sham on FEV₁ and FEV₁/FVC) with only acupressure showing statistical differences for quality of life (SMD: -0.63 95%CI: − 0.88, − 0.39 I² = 0%) and anxiety (HAM-A scale MD:-4.83 95%CI: − 5.71, − 3.94 I² = 0%). Conclusions: Overall, strong evidence in favour of any technique was not found. Acupressure could be beneficial for dyspnoea, quality of life and anxiety, but this is based on low quality trials. Further large well-designed randomised control trials are needed to elucidate the possible role of acupuncture techniques in the treatment of COPD. Trial registration: PROSPERO (identifier: CRD42014015074).

To evaluate the bibliographic references available on the contribution of acupuncture as a strategy to avoid labor induction and the methodology used, explore the characteristics of the population and the results of the intervention to direct the design of future studies. A systematic search for publications between January 2000 and September 2023 of the CENTRAL, PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS and ClinicalTrials.gov and EUDRACT databases was performed. We included randomized clinical trials of pregnant women who underwent acupuncture prior to labor induction with a filiform needle or acupressure, including at least one of the following outcomes: spontaneous labor rate, time from procedure to delivery and cesarean rate. Articles published in English or German language were included. Whenever possible, a meta-analysis using RevMan software was performed using a random effects model with the I2 statistic since important heterogeneity in the different acupuncture treatments was expected. When enough data were available, the effect of the participants' characteristics on the results of the interventions was explored using the following subgroups: 1-Age (≥35 vs. <35), and 2- body mass index (BMI) (≥30 vs. 0.05). This study suggests that acupuncture may be beneficial in reducing the rate of induction of labor, but well-designed randomized controlled trials are necessary. Maternal age ≥ 35 and a high BMI were underrepresented, and findings may not be representative of the current population in our context.