What Interventions Are Effective for Improving Health in Elderly Korean Women with Metabolic Syndrome?: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: This study is a systematic literature review and meta-analysis conducted primarily in Korea to analyze the effects of exercise programs on metabolic syndrome symptoms in elderly women. Methods: 10 studies were selected and used for meta-analysis. To estimate the effect size, a meta-analysis of the studies was performed using RevMan 5.4. Results: When participating in an exercise program, the effect size for waist circumference was –2.05 (95% CI: -3.36, -0.74), the effect size for systolic blood pressure was –7.28 (95% CI: -10.11, -4.44), the effect size for diastolic blood pressure was –7.67 (95% CI: -14.11, -1.23), the effect size for fasting blood glucose was –5.55 (95% CI: -7.96, -3.13), and the effect size for TG was –25.91 (95% CI: -31.21, -20.61), confirming a significant effect. Conclusions: Exercise interventions included in this study included walking, strength training, aquatic exercise, and resistance training. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis revealed that interventions effective for metabolic syndrome indicators (blood pressure, triglycerides, waist circumference, and fasting blood glucose) were more effective when applied for 12 weeks or longer.