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Background <p>Anxiety significantly impacts quality of life among older adults, particularly those with chronic conditions. Exercise has been established as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for anxiety, while the optimal type and dosage of exercise remain unclear. This study aimed to determine which exercise modality yields the largest efficacy for reducing anxiety and to model the optimal METs-min/week dose for anxiety reduction.</p> Methods <p>This systematic review and network meta-analysis searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane databases from database inception to 15 January 2025. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating exercise interventions among older adults (≥ 60 years) and extracted data from dose metrics (METs-min/week), treatment regimens, intensity, and study duration.</p> Results <p>Twenty-three RCTs with a total of 2093 participants were included in the analysis. Tai Chi emerged as the most effective exercise for reducing anxiety compared with the control group (SMD = − 1.37, 95% CI: −2.03 to − 0.71). Resistance training (RT), Yoga, Qigong and aerobic exercise (AE) also demonstrated relative efficacy. However, mixed exercise (MIX) did not yield significant effects. Dose-response analysis indicated that Tai Chi demonstrated optimal efficacy for alleviating anxiety in older adults at a dose of 500 METs-min/week, with statistically significant effects observed at a relatively lower dose (340 METs-min/week).</p> Conclusion <p>Our findings indicate that Tai Chi is the most effective exercise for alleviating anxiety in older adults. In contrast, MIX showed no significant effects.</p>

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Comparative efficacy of various exercise types and doses for anxiety in older adults: A network and dose-response meta-analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月23日

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  • Haotian Jin,
  • Yinan Zhang,
  • Yi Sun,
  • Yan Shao

摘要

Background

Anxiety significantly impacts quality of life among older adults, particularly those with chronic conditions. Exercise has been established as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for anxiety, while the optimal type and dosage of exercise remain unclear. This study aimed to determine which exercise modality yields the largest efficacy for reducing anxiety and to model the optimal METs-min/week dose for anxiety reduction.

Methods

This systematic review and network meta-analysis searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane databases from database inception to 15 January 2025. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating exercise interventions among older adults (≥ 60 years) and extracted data from dose metrics (METs-min/week), treatment regimens, intensity, and study duration.

Results

Twenty-three RCTs with a total of 2093 participants were included in the analysis. Tai Chi emerged as the most effective exercise for reducing anxiety compared with the control group (SMD = − 1.37, 95% CI: −2.03 to − 0.71). Resistance training (RT), Yoga, Qigong and aerobic exercise (AE) also demonstrated relative efficacy. However, mixed exercise (MIX) did not yield significant effects. Dose-response analysis indicated that Tai Chi demonstrated optimal efficacy for alleviating anxiety in older adults at a dose of 500 METs-min/week, with statistically significant effects observed at a relatively lower dose (340 METs-min/week).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that Tai Chi is the most effective exercise for alleviating anxiety in older adults. In contrast, MIX showed no significant effects.