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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1496692
This article is part of the Research Topic Reviews and Applications of Implementation Research in Aging and Public Health View all 7 articles

The Effects of Dance Interventions on Reducing the Risk of Falls in Older Adults: A Network Meta-Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Ying Li Ying Li 1Zhaoguo Wang Zhaoguo Wang 2Li Jiahao Li Jiahao 2Hao Hong Yang Hao Hong Yang 2Long Zi Fang Long Zi Fang 2*
  • 1 Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China
  • 2 Beijing Sport University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: The efficacy of dance in reducing fall risks among older adults highlights its potential for geriatric health, but the optimal dance style remains uncertain. The present study endeavors to systematically analyze the effects of various dance forms on reducing the risk of falls among elderly individuals, with the aim of providing evidence-based insights into the most efficacious dance styles for this population. Design: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of the existing literature was conducted to synthesize the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of various dance interventions in reducing the risk of falls among older adults. Methods: We searched seven databases for randomized controlled trials on dance interventions for fall prevention in older adults and used Stata 17.0 for network meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-seven studies (n=1219 older adults) were included. Creative Dance (CD) significantly improved the Berg Balance Scale score in healthy older adults (P<0.05) and ranked best. Folk Dance (FD), CD, and Ballroom Dance (BD) all significantly improved Timed Up and Go time compared to controls, with FD ranking best overall. In Parkinson's disease patients, both BD and FD significantly improved the Berg Balance Score, with FD again ranking best. Conclusion: Creative dance, Folk dance, and Ballroom dance effectively reduce the risk of falls in older adults. Creative dance enhanced the Berg Balance Score the most among healthy older adults, while Folk dance improved the Timed Up and Go test performance the best across groups with Parkinson's disease.

    Keywords: dance, older adults, falls, balance, Network meta-analysis

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Wang, Jiahao, Yang and Fang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Long Zi Fang, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, Beijing Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.