Supervised Group-Based Exercise for Preventing Falls Among Older Adults in the Community

Background: Supervised group exercise may have greater health benefits than no exercise or exercise alone. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of supervised group-based exercise on the risk of falls among community-dwelling older adults compared to no exercise or exercise alone. Methods: Four databases were searched up to March 1, 2024 for eligible randomized controlled trials. Results: Seventeen randomized controlled trials were eligible for this meta-analysis. Meta-analyses showed that compared with no exercise, supervised group-based exercise had a significant effect on preventing falls, injurious falls, and fall-related fractures. Compared with exercise alone, supervised group-based exercise significantly reduced falls and injurious falls. Conclusions: Moderate-quality evidence suggests that compared with no exercise or exercise alone, supervised group-based exercise is more effective at preventing falls among community-dwelling older adults.