This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of exercise interventions on muscle strength, muscle mass, and physical performance in older adults with sarcopenia. Randomized controlled studies assessing exercise effects on sarcopenia were searched in Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Scopus, EMBASE, and VIP and CNKI up to 31 March 2022. Data were expressed as weighted/standardized mean difference (MD/SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). I² index was employed for heterogeneity. The initial search identified 5379 studies, and 23 studies involving 1252 participants met the inclusion criteria for further analysis. Results revealed that exercise interventions can significantly improve grip strength (MD = 2.38, 95%CI = 1.33–3.43), knee extension strength (SMD = 0.50, 95%CI = 0.36–0.64), muscle mass of lower extremities (MD = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.01–0.56), walking speed (SMD = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.49–1.27), and functional mobility (MD = −1.77, 95%CI = −2.11–−1.42) among older adults with sarcopenia. No significant exercise effects were found on fat-free muscle mass, appendicular muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass, and muscle mass of the upper extremities. The results of subgroup analysis indicated that both resistance training and multicomponent exercise could significantly increase the muscle strength, while aerobic exercise did not. The findings suggest that exercise intervention can effectively improve muscle function and physical performance in older adults with sarcopenia, but has limited effects on the muscle mass of the upper extremities. In addition, it is highly recommended to apply group-based and supervised resistance training and multicomponent exercise in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia among the older population.

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore 1) the overall associations between functional fitness and walking speed in older adults and 2) the key functional fitness parameters affecting older adults' walking speeds. A total of 242 apparently healthy older adults finished a 6-m walking speed test at both usual walking speed (UWS) and maximum walking speed (MWS). Functional fitness was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test battery. The results revealed significantly moderate correlations of functional fitness with UWS (r = 0.380) and MWS (r = 0.436). Both age (UWS = -0.332, MWS = -0.324) and dynamic balance and agility (UWS = 0.329, MWS = 0.411) were key indicators of both UWS and MWS. In addition, gender (r = 0.090), aerobic endurance (r = 0.326), and lower body flexibility (r = 0.183) were key fitness indicators of MWS in older adults.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), and integrated concurrent exercise (ICE; i.e., AE plus RE) on executive function among hospitalized type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) inpatients, and the mechanism of cerebral hemodynamics.Methods: A within-subject design was applied in 30 hospitalized patients with T2DM aged between 45 and 70 years in the Jiangsu Geriatric Hospital, China. The participants were asked to take AE, RE, and ICE for 3 days at 48-h intervals. Three executive function (EF) tests, namely, Stroop, More-odd shifting, and 2-back tests, were applied at baseline and after each exercise. The functional near-infrared spectroscopy brain function imaging system was used to collect cerebral hemodynamic data. The one-way repeated measurement ANOVA was used to explore training effects on each test indicator.Results: Compared with the baseline data, the EF indicators have been improved after both ICE and RE (p< 0.05). Compared with the AE group, the ICE and RE groups have demonstrated significant improvements in inhibition (ICE: MD = − 162.92 ms; RE: MD = −106.86 ms) and conversion functions (ICE: MD = −111.79 ms; RE: MD = −86.95 ms). Based on the cerebral hemodynamic data, the beta values of brain activation in executive function related brain regions increased after three kinds of exercise, the EF improvements after the ICE showed synchronous activation of blood flow in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the frontal polar (FPA) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the improvement of inhibitory function after RE displayed synchronous activation of DLPFC and FPA, and AE mainly activates DLPFC. The HbO₂concentration in the pars triangularis Broca's area increased significantly after AE, but the EF did not improve significantly.Conclusion: The ICE is preferred for the improvements of executive function in T2DM patients, while AE is more conducive to the improvements of refresh function. Moreover, a synergistic mechanism exists between cognitive function and blood flow activation in specific brain regions.