Resistance Training and Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Strength of the Evidence

Table 3

Study characteristics.

Study ID (reference number), PEDro score	Sample; Size (𝑛), intervention design	Intervention (duration, frequency, intensity, session duration, sets of reps, equipment: exercises)	Outcome measure (^¥𝑃 value)	Authors conclusion
*Brooks et al. [17]; PEDro: 7	Exercise: 𝑛=31; RT + SC; Control: 𝑛=31; SC	(i)16 weeks; (ii) 3 d/week; (iii) weeks 1–8: 60–80% of baseline 1RM; weeks 10–14: 70–80% of mid-study 1RM; (iv) 45 min/session (5 min warmup; 5 min cooldown); (v) 3 sets of 8 reps; (vi) 5 pneumatic machines: upper back, chest press, leg press, knee extension, and flexion	Whole-body lean tissue mass (0.04); Lower body muscle strength (<0.001); Upper body muscle strength (<0.001); Muscle quality (<0.001); Type I fiber CSA (0.04); Type II fiber CSA (0.04); HbA1c (<0.001); Fasting insulin (0.27); Fasting glucose (0.92); Whole body strength (0.0001)	16 weeks of RT resulted in musculoskeletal and metabolic improvements, and it is a mode of exercise worth considering as an adjunct to SC
*Castaneda et al. [13]; PEDro: 6	Exercise: 𝑛=31; RT + SC; Control: 𝑛=31; SC	(i) 16 weeks; (ii) 3 d/week; (iii) weeks 1–8: 60–80% of baseline 1RM; weeks 10–14: 70–80% of mid-study 1RM; (iv) 45 min/session (5 min warmup; 5 min cooldown); (v) 3 sets of 8 reps; (vi) 5 pneumatic machines: upper back, chest press, leg press, knee extension, and flexion	Whole body fat mass (0.26); Total cholesterol (0.59); LDL cholesterol (0.13); HDL cholesterol (0.46); Systolic BP (0.05); Diastolic BP (0.52)	RT was feasible among older adults with type 2 diabetes, and it resulted in improved metabolic control
Dunstan et al. [53]; PEDro: 4	Exercise: 𝑛=16; RT + WL; Control: 𝑛=13; WL	(i) 24 weeks; (ii)3 d/week; (iii) weeks 1-2: 50–60% 1RM; progress to: 75–85% 1RM; (iv) 45 min/session (5 min warmup; 5 min cooldown); (v) 3 sets of 8–10 reps (minus abdominal curls); (vi) Free weights and multiple station weight machine; 9 exercises: bench press, leg extension, upright row, lateral pull down, standing leg curl with ankle weights, dumbbell seated shoulder press, dumbbell seated biceps curl, dumbbell biceps kickback, abdominal curls	Total cholesterol (N/A); LDL cholesterol (N/A); HDL cholesterol (N/A); HbA1c (<0.01); Fasting insulin (N/A); Fasting glucose (0.06); Systolic BP (<0.05); Diastolic BP (<0.05)	A 16-week progressive, high-intensity RT program was effective in improving glycemic control and muscle strength in older adults with T2DM

RT: resistance training; SC: standard care; d: days; min: minutes; sec: seconds; b/w: between; reps: repetitions; UE: upper extremity;
LE: lower extremity; CSA: cross sectional area; HbA1c: glycosylated hemoglobin; WL: weight loss).
*Brooks et al. [17] and Castaneda et al. [13] include the same intervention and participants but different outcome measures.
^¥𝑃 value reported by the authors.