Effects of detraining on cardiovascular risk factors in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of detraining on cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in older adults and to explore potential moderating factor (duration of detraining) to gain a better understanding of the factors influencing changes in CVRF.

A comprehensive literature search was conducted in four databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. A total of 17 studies involving 513 participants were included. Meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, and publication bias assessments were performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata version 15.0.

Detraining significantly increased SBP (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI [0.21, 0.58]), DBP (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI [0.11, 0.33]), BGL (SMD = 0.48, 95% CI [0.15, 0.80]), TC (SMD = 0.49, 95% CI [0.18, 0.80]), TG (SMD = 0.64, 95% CI [0.35, 0.92]), and body fat (SMD = 0.36, 95% CI [0.22, 0.51]), while significantly reducing HDL-C (SMD = -0.42, 95% CI [-0.78, -0.06]). Subgroup analyses revealed that the adverse effects of detraining were more pronounced after ≥3 months. SBP and TG increased significantly regardless of detraining duration, but the effect sizes were larger after ≥3 months. In contrast, DBP, BGL, TC, and LDL-C increased significantly only after ≥3 months of detraining. Although BMI and body weight did not change significantly, body fat, in contrast, increased significantly in both groups, with a greater increase observed after ≥3 months.

Detraining has significant and detrimental effects on cardiovascular risk factors in older adults, with risks increasing as the duration of detraining extends.