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Psychological and educational interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.
Older adults are at increased risk of both falls and fall-related injuries. Falls have multiple causes and many interventions exist to try and prevent them, including educational and psychological interventions. Educational interventions aim to increase older people's understanding of what they can do to prevent falls and psychological interventions can aim to improve confidence/motivation to engage in activities that may prevent falls. This review is an update of previous evidence to focus on educational and psychological interventions for falls prevention in community-dwelling older people.
To assess the benefits and harms of psychological interventions (such as cognitive behavioural therapy; with or without an education component) and educational interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, four other databases, and two trials registries to June 2023. We also screened reference lists and conducted forward-citation searching.
We included randomised controlled trials of community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older exploring the effectiveness of psychological interventions (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) or educational interventions (or both) aiming to prevent falls.
We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Our primary outcome was rate of falls. We also explored: number of people falling; people with fall-related fractures; people with falls that required medical attention; people with fall-related hospital admission; fall-related psychological outcomes (i.e. concerns about falling); health-related quality of life; and adverse events.
We included 37 studies (six on cognitive behavioural interventions; three on motivational interviewing; three on other psychological interventions; nine on multifactorial (personalised) education; 12 on multiple topic education; two on single topic education; one with unclear education type; and one psychological plus educational intervention). Studies randomised 17,478 participants (71% women; mean age 73 years). Most studies were at high or unclear risk of bias for one or more domains. Cognitive behavioural interventions Cognitive behavioural interventions make little to no difference to the number of fallers (risk ratio (RR) 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82 to 1.02; 4 studies, 1286 participants; low-certainty evidence), and there was a slight reduction in concerns about falling (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.30, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.19; 3 studies, 1132 participants; low-certainty evidence). The evidence is very uncertain or missing about the effect of cognitive behavioural interventions on other outcomes. Motivational interviewing The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of motivational interviewing on rate of falls, number of fallers, and fall-related psychological outcomes. No evidence is available on the effects of motivational interviewing on people experiencing fall-related fractures, falls requiring medical attention, fall-related hospital admission, or adverse events. Other psychological interventions The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of health coaching on rate of falls, number of fallers, people sustaining a fall-related fracture, or fall-related hospital admission; the effect of other psychological interventions on these outcomes was not measured. The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of health coaching, guided imagery, and mental practice on fall-related psychological outcomes. The effect of other psychological interventions on falls needing medical attention or adverse events was not measured. Multifactorial education Multifactorial (personalised) education makes little to no difference to the rate of falls (rate ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.17; 2 studies, 777 participants; low-certainty evidence). The effect of multifactorial education on people experiencing fall-related fractures was very imprecise (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.48; 2 studies, 510 participants; low-certainty evidence), and the evidence is very uncertain about its effect on the number of fallers. There was no evidence for other outcomes. Multiple component education Multiple component education may improve fall-related psychological outcomes (MD -2.94, 95% CI -4.41 to -1.48; 1 study, 459 participants; low-certainty evidence). However, the evidence is very uncertain about its effect on all other outcomes. Single topic education The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of single-topic education on rate of falls, number of fallers, and people experiencing fall-related fractures. There was no evidence for other outcomes. Psychological plus educational interventions Motivational interviewing/coaching combined with multifactorial (personalised) education likely reduces the rate of falls (although the size of this effect is not clear; rate ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.99; 1 study, 430 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), but makes little to no difference to the number of fallers (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.13; 1 study, 430 participants; high-certainty evidence). It probably makes little to no difference to falls-related psychological outcomes (MD -0.70, 95% CI -1.81 to 0.41; 1 study, 353 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). There were no adverse events detected (1 study, 430 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). There was no evidence for psychological plus educational intervention on other outcomes.
The evidence suggests that a combined psychological and educational intervention likely reduces the rate of falls (but not fallers), without affecting adverse events. Overall, the evidence for individual psychological interventions or delivering education alone is of low or very-low certainty; future research may change our confidence and understanding of the effects. Cognitive behavioural interventions may improve concerns about falling slightly, but this may not help reduce the number of people who fall. Certain types of education (i.e. multiple component education) may also help reduce concerns about falling, but not necessarily reduce the number of falls. Future research should adhere to reporting standards for describing the interventions used and explore how these interventions may work, to better understand what could best work for whom in what situation. There is a particular dearth of evidence for low- to middle-income countries.
Drahota A
,Udell JE
,Mackenzie H
,Pugh MT
... -
《Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews》
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Falls prevention interventions for community-dwelling older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of benefits, harms, and patient values and preferences.
About 20-30% of older adults (≥ 65 years old) experience one or more falls each year, and falls are associated with substantial burden to the health care system, individuals, and families from resulting injuries, fractures, and reduced functioning and quality of life. Many interventions for preventing falls have been studied, and their effectiveness, factors relevant to their implementation, and patient preferences may determine which interventions to use in primary care. The aim of this set of reviews was to inform recommendations by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (task force) on fall prevention interventions. We undertook three systematic reviews to address questions about the following: (i) the benefits and harms of interventions, (ii) how patients weigh the potential outcomes (outcome valuation), and (iii) patient preferences for different types of interventions, and their attributes, shown to offer benefit (intervention preferences).
We searched four databases for benefits and harms (MEDLINE, Embase, AgeLine, CENTRAL, to August 25, 2023) and three for outcome valuation and intervention preferences (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, to June 9, 2023). For benefits and harms, we relied heavily on a previous review for studies published until 2016. We also searched trial registries, references of included studies, and recent reviews. Two reviewers independently screened studies. The population of interest was community-dwelling adults ≥ 65 years old. We did not limit eligibility by participant fall history. The task force rated several outcomes, decided on their eligibility, and provided input on the effect thresholds to apply for each outcome (fallers, falls, injurious fallers, fractures, hip fractures, functional status, health-related quality of life, long-term care admissions, adverse effects, serious adverse effects). For benefits and harms, we included a broad range of non-pharmacological interventions relevant to primary care. Although usual care was the main comparator of interest, we included studies comparing interventions head-to-head and conducted a network meta-analysis (NMAs) for each outcome, enabling analysis of interventions lacking direct comparisons to usual care. For benefits and harms, we included randomized controlled trials with a minimum 3-month follow-up and reporting on one of our fall outcomes (fallers, falls, injurious fallers); for the other questions, we preferred quantitative data but considered qualitative findings to fill gaps in evidence. No date limits were applied for benefits and harms, whereas for outcome valuation and intervention preferences we included studies published in 2000 or later. All data were extracted by one trained reviewer and verified for accuracy and completeness. For benefits and harms, we relied on the previous review team's risk-of-bias assessments for benefit outcomes, but otherwise, two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias (within and across study). For the other questions, one reviewer verified another's assessments. Consensus was used, with adjudication by a lead author when necessary. A coding framework, modified from the ProFANE taxonomy, classified interventions and their attributes (e.g., supervision, delivery format, duration/intensity). For benefit outcomes, we employed random-effects NMA using a frequentist approach and a consistency model. Transitivity and coherence were assessed using meta-regressions and global and local coherence tests, as well as through graphical display and descriptive data on the composition of the nodes with respect to major pre-planned effect modifiers. We assessed heterogeneity using prediction intervals. For intervention-related adverse effects, we pooled proportions except for vitamin D for which we considered data in the control groups and undertook random-effects pairwise meta-analysis using a relative risk (any adverse effects) or risk difference (serious adverse effects). For outcome valuation, we pooled disutilities (representing the impact of a negative event, e.g. fall, on one's usual quality of life, with 0 = no impact and 1 = death and ~ 0.05 indicating important disutility) from the EQ-5D utility measurement using the inverse variance method and a random-effects model and explored heterogeneity. When studies only reported other data, we compared the findings with our main analysis. For intervention preferences, we used a coding schema identifying whether there were strong, clear, no, or variable preferences within, and then across, studies. We assessed the certainty of evidence for each outcome using CINeMA for benefit outcomes and GRADE for all other outcomes.
A total of 290 studies were included across the reviews, with two studies included in multiple questions. For benefits and harms, we included 219 trials reporting on 167,864 participants and created 59 interventions (nodes). Transitivity and coherence were assessed as adequate. Across eight NMAs, the number of contributing trials ranged between 19 and 173, and the number of interventions ranged from 19 to 57. Approximately, half of the interventions in each network had at least low certainty for benefit. The fallers outcome had the highest number of interventions with moderate certainty for benefit (18/57). For the non-fall outcomes (fractures, hip fracture, long-term care [LTC] admission, functional status, health-related quality of life), many interventions had very low certainty evidence, often from lack of data. We prioritized findings from 21 interventions where there was moderate certainty for at least some benefit. Fourteen of these had a focus on exercise, the majority being supervised (for > 2 sessions) and of long duration (> 3 months), and with balance/resistance and group Tai Chi interventions generally having the most outcomes with at least low certainty for benefit. None of the interventions having moderate certainty evidence focused on walking. Whole-body vibration or home-hazard assessment (HHA) plus exercise provided to everyone showed moderate certainty for some benefit. No multifactorial intervention alone showed moderate certainty for any benefit. Six interventions only had very-low certainty evidence for the benefit outcomes. Two interventions had moderate certainty of harmful effects for at least one benefit outcome, though the populations across studies were at high risk for falls. Vitamin D and most single-component exercise interventions are probably associated with minimal adverse effects. Some uncertainty exists about possible adverse effects from other interventions. For outcome valuation, we included 44 studies of which 34 reported EQ-5D disutilities. Admission to long-term care had the highest disutility (1.0), but the evidence was rated as low certainty. Both fall-related hip (moderate certainty) and non-hip (low certainty) fracture may result in substantial disutility (0.53 and 0.57) in the first 3 months after injury. Disutility for both hip and non-hip fractures is probably lower 12 months after injury (0.16 and 0.19, with high and moderate certainty, respectively) compared to within the first 3 months. No study measured the disutility of an injurious fall. Fractures are probably more important than either falls (0.09 over 12 months) or functional status (0.12). Functional status may be somewhat more important than falls. For intervention preferences, 29 studies (9 qualitative) reported on 17 comparisons among single-component interventions showing benefit. Exercise interventions focusing on balance and/or resistance training appear to be clearly preferred over Tai Chi and other forms of exercise (e.g., yoga, aerobic). For exercise programs in general, there is probably variability among people in whether they prefer group or individual delivery, though there was high certainty that individual was preferred over group delivery of balance/resistance programs. Balance/resistance exercise may be preferred over education, though the evidence was low certainty. There was low certainty for a slight preference for education over cognitive-behavioral therapy, and group education may be preferred over individual education.
To prevent falls among community-dwelling older adults, evidence is most certain for benefit, at least over 1-2 years, from supervised, long-duration balance/resistance and group Tai Chi interventions, whole-body vibration, high-intensity/dose education or cognitive-behavioral therapy, and interventions of comprehensive multifactorial assessment with targeted treatment plus HHA, HHA plus exercise, or education provided to everyone. Adding other interventions to exercise does not appear to substantially increase benefits. Overall, effects appear most applicable to those with elevated fall risk. Choice among effective interventions that are available may best depend on individual patient preferences, though when implementing new balance/resistance programs delivering individual over group sessions when feasible may be most acceptable. Data on more patient-important outcomes including fall-related fractures and adverse effects would be beneficial, as would studies focusing on equity-deserving populations and on programs delivered virtually.
Not registered.
Pillay J
,Gaudet LA
,Saba S
,Vandermeer B
,Ashiq AR
,Wingert A
,Hartling L
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《Systematic Reviews》
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Population-based interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries in older people.
Lewis SR
,McGarrigle L
,Pritchard MW
,Bosco A
,Yang Y
,Gluchowski A
,Sremanakova J
,Boulton ER
,Gittins M
,Spinks A
,Rapp K
,MacIntyre DE
,McClure RJ
,Todd C
... -
《Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews》
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Educational and psychological interventions for managing atopic dermatitis (eczema).
Atopic dermatitis (eczema), can have a significant impact on well-being and quality of life for affected people and their families. Standard treatment is avoidance of triggers or irritants and regular application of emollients and topical steroids or calcineurin inhibitors. Thorough physical and psychological assessment is central to good-quality treatment. Overcoming barriers to provision of holistic treatment in dermatological practice is dependent on evaluation of the efficacy and economics of both psychological and educational interventions in this participant group. This review is based on a previous Cochrane review published in 2014, and now includes adults as well as children.
To assess the clinical outcomes of educational and psychological interventions in children and adults with atopic dermatitis (eczema) and to summarise the availability and principal findings of relevant economic evaluations.
We searched the Cochrane Skin Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycINFO and two trials registers up to March 2023. We checked the reference lists of included studies and related systematic reviews for further references to relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and contacted experts in the field to identify additional studies. We searched NHS Economic Evaluation Database, MEDLINE and Embase for economic evaluations on 8 June 2022.
Randomised, cluster-randomised and cross-over RCTs that assess educational and psychological interventions for treating eczema in children and adults.
We used standard Cochrane methods, with GRADE to assess the certainty of the evidence for each outcome. Primary outcomes were reduction in disease severity, as measured by clinical signs, patient-reported symptoms and improvement in health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) measures. Secondary outcomes were improvement in long-term control of symptoms, improvement in psychological well-being, improvement in standard treatment concordance and adverse events. We assessed short- (up to 16 weeks after treatment) and long-term time points (more than 16 weeks).
We included 37 trials (6170 participants). Most trials were conducted in high-income countries (34/37), in outpatient settings (25/37). We judged three trials to be low risk of bias across all domains. Fifteen trials had a high risk of bias in at least one domain, mostly due to bias in measurement of the outcome. Trials assessed interventions compared to standard care. Individual educational interventions may reduce short-term clinical signs (measured by SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD); mean difference (MD) -5.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) -9.39 to -2.01; 1 trial, 30 participants; low-certainty evidence) but patient-reported symptoms, HRQoL, long-term eczema control and psychological well-being were not reported. Group education interventions probably reduce clinical signs (SCORAD) both in the short term (MD -9.66, 95% CI -19.04 to -0.29; 3 studies, 731 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and the long term (MD -7.22, 95% CI -11.01 to -3.43; 3 studies, 1424 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and probably reduce long-term patient-reported symptoms (SMD -0.47 95% CI -0.60 to -0.33; 2 studies, 908 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). They may slightly improve short-term HRQoL (SMD -0.19, 95% CI -0.36 to -0.01; 4 studies, 746 participants; low-certainty evidence), but may make little or no difference to short-term psychological well-being (Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); MD -2.47, 95% CI -5.16 to 0.22; 1 study, 80 participants; low-certainty evidence). Long-term eczema control was not reported. We don't know whether technology-mediated educational interventions could improve short-term clinical signs (SCORAD; 1 study; 29 participants; very low-certainty evidence). They may have little or no effect on short-term patient-reported symptoms (Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM); MD -0.76, 95% CI -1.84 to 0.33; 2 studies; 195 participants; low-certainty evidence) and probably have little or no effect on short-term HRQoL (MD 0, 95% CI -0.03 to 0.03; 2 studies, 430 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Technology-mediated education interventions probably slightly improve long-term eczema control (Recap of atopic eczema (RECAP); MD -1.5, 95% CI -3.13 to 0.13; 1 study, 232 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), and may improve short-term psychological well-being (MD -1.78, 95% CI -2.13 to -1.43; 1 study, 24 participants; low-certainty evidence). Habit reversal treatment may reduce short-term clinical signs (SCORAD; MD -6.57, 95% CI -13.04 to -0.1; 1 study, 33 participants; low-certainty evidence) but we are uncertain about any effects on short-term HRQoL (Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI); 1 study, 30 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Patient-reported symptoms, long-term eczema control and psychological well-being were not reported. We are uncertain whether arousal reduction therapy interventions could improve short-term clinical signs (Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI); 1 study, 24 participants; very low-certainty evidence) or patient-reported symptoms (visual analogue scale (VAS); 1 study, 18 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Arousal reduction therapy may improve short-term HRQoL (Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI); MD -2.1, 95% CI -4.41 to 0.21; 1 study, 91 participants; low-certainty evidence) and psychological well-being (PSS; MD -1.2, 95% CI -3.38 to 0.98; 1 study, 91 participants; low-certainty evidence). Long-term eczema control was not reported. No studies reported standard care compared with self-help psychological interventions, psychological therapies or printed education; or adverse events. We identified two health economic studies. One found that a 12-week, technology-mediated, educational-support programme may be cost neutral. The other found that a nurse practitioner group-education intervention may have lower costs than standard care provided by a dermatologist, with comparable effectiveness.
In-person, individual education, as an adjunct to conventional topical therapy, may reduce short-term eczema signs compared to standard care, but there is no information on eczema symptoms, quality of life or long-term outcomes. Group education probably reduces eczema signs and symptoms in the long term and may also improve quality of life in the short term. Favourable effects were also reported for technology-mediated education, habit reversal treatment and arousal reduction therapy. All favourable effects are of uncertain clinical significance, since they may not exceed the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the outcome measures used (MCID 8.7 points for SCORAD, 3.4 points for POEM). We found no trials of self-help psychological interventions, psychological therapies or printed education. Future trials should include more diverse populations, address shared priorities, evaluate long-term outcomes and ensure patients are involved in trial design.
Singleton H
,Hodder A
,Almilaji O
,Ersser SJ
,Heaslip V
,O'Meara S
,Boyers D
,Roberts A
,Scott H
,Van Onselen J
,Doney L
,Boyle RJ
,Thompson AR
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《Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews》
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Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome.
Editorial note (19 December 2024; amended 31 January 2025): Larun L, Brurberg KG, Odgaard‐Jensen J, Price JR. Exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD003200. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003200.pub8. Accessed 18 December 2024. This Editorial Note is for the above article, published online on 2 October 2019 on the Cochrane Library (https://www.cochranelibrary.com/), and has been issued by the Publisher, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, in agreement with the Cochrane Collaboration. The Editorial note has been agreed to inform readers that Cochrane is ceasing the production of a full update of this Cochrane review. A pilot project for engaging interest holders in the development of this Cochrane review was initiated on 2 October 2019 (see Editorial Note below) and has now been disbanded. Cochrane maintains its decision to publish this Cochrane review in 2019, which includes studies from searches up to 9 May 2014. Editorial note (2 October 2019): A statement from the Editor in Chief about this review and its planned update is available at https://www.cochrane.org/news/cfs
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a serious disorder characterised by persistent postexertional fatigue and substantial symptoms related to cognitive, immune and autonomous dysfunction. There is no specific diagnostic test, therefore diagnostic criteria are used to diagnose CFS. The prevalence of CFS varies by type of diagnostic criteria used. Existing treatment strategies primarily aim to relieve symptoms and improve function. One treatment option is exercise therapy.
The objective of this review was to determine the effects of exercise therapy for adults with CFS compared with any other intervention or control on fatigue, adverse outcomes, pain, physical functioning, quality of life, mood disorders, sleep, self-perceived changes in overall health, health service resources use and dropout.
We searched the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group controlled trials register, CENTRAL, and SPORTDiscus up to May 2014, using a comprehensive list of free-text terms for CFS and exercise. We located unpublished and ongoing studies through the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform up to May 2014. We screened reference lists of retrieved articles and contacted experts in the field for additional studies.
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) about adults with a primary diagnosis of CFS, from all diagnostic criteria, who were able to participate in exercise therapy.
Two review authors independently performed study selection, 'Risk of bias' assessments and data extraction. We combined continuous measures of outcomes using mean differences (MDs) or standardised mean differences (SMDs). To facilitate interpretation of SMDs, we re-expressed SMD estimates as MDs on more common measurement scales. We combined dichotomous outcomes using risk ratios (RRs). We assessed the certainty of evidence using GRADE.
We included eight RCTs with data from 1518 participants. Exercise therapy lasted from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. The studies measured effect at the end of the treatment and at long-term follow-up, after 50 weeks or 72 weeks. Seven studies used aerobic exercise therapies such as walking, swimming, cycling or dancing, provided at mixed levels in terms of intensity of the aerobic exercise from very low to quite rigorous, and one study used anaerobic exercise. Control groups consisted of passive control, including treatment as usual, relaxation or flexibility (eight studies); cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (two studies); cognitive therapy (one study); supportive listening (one study); pacing (one study); pharmacological treatment (one study) and combination treatment (one study). Most studies had a low risk of selection bias. All had a high risk of performance and detection bias. Exercise therapy compared with 'passive' control Exercise therapy probably reduces fatigue at end of treatment (SMD -0.66, 95% CI -1.01 to -0.31; 7 studies, 840 participants; moderate-certainty evidence; re-expressed MD -3.4, 95% CI -5.3 to -1.6; scale 0 to 33). We are uncertain if fatigue is reduced in the long term because the certainty of the evidence is very low (SMD -0.62, 95 % CI -1.32 to 0.07; 4 studies, 670 participants; re-expressed MD -3.2, 95% CI -6.9 to 0.4; scale 0 to 33). We are uncertain about the risk of serious adverse reactions because the certainty of the evidence is very low (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.14 to 6.97; 1 study, 319 participants). Exercise therapy may moderately improve physical functioning at end of treatment, but the long-term effect is uncertain because the certainty of the evidence is very low. Exercise therapy may also slightly improve sleep at end of treatment and at long term. The effect of exercise therapy on pain, quality of life and depression is uncertain because evidence is missing or of very low certainty. Exercise therapy compared with CBT Exercise therapy may make little or no difference to fatigue at end of treatment (MD 0.20, 95% CI -1.49 to 1.89; 1 study, 298 participants; low-certainty evidence), or at long-term follow-up (SMD 0.07, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.28; 2 studies, 351 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). We are uncertain about the risk of serious adverse reactions because the certainty of the evidence is very low (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.11 to 3.96; 1 study, 321 participants). The available evidence suggests that there may be little or no difference between exercise therapy and CBT in physical functioning or sleep (low-certainty evidence) and probably little or no difference in the effect on depression (moderate-certainty evidence). We are uncertain if exercise therapy compared to CBT improves quality of life or reduces pain because the evidence is of very low certainty. Exercise therapy compared with adaptive pacing Exercise therapy may slightly reduce fatigue at end of treatment (MD -2.00, 95% CI -3.57 to -0.43; scale 0 to 33; 1 study, 305 participants; low-certainty evidence) and at long-term follow-up (MD -2.50, 95% CI -4.16 to -0.84; scale 0 to 33; 1 study, 307 participants; low-certainty evidence). We are uncertain about the risk of serious adverse reactions (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.14 to 6.97; 1 study, 319 participants; very low-certainty evidence). The available evidence suggests that exercise therapy may slightly improve physical functioning, depression and sleep compared to adaptive pacing (low-certainty evidence). No studies reported quality of life or pain. Exercise therapy compared with antidepressants We are uncertain if exercise therapy, alone or in combination with antidepressants, reduces fatigue and depression more than antidepressant alone, as the certainty of the evidence is very low. The one included study did not report on adverse reactions, pain, physical functioning, quality of life, sleep or long-term results.
Exercise therapy probably has a positive effect on fatigue in adults with CFS compared to usual care or passive therapies. The evidence regarding adverse effects is uncertain. Due to limited evidence it is difficult to draw conclusions about the comparative effectiveness of CBT, adaptive pacing or other interventions. All studies were conducted with outpatients diagnosed with 1994 criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Oxford criteria, or both. Patients diagnosed using other criteria may experience different effects.
Larun L
,Brurberg KG
,Odgaard-Jensen J
,Price JR
... -
《Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews》