Effect of dance intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life of older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is among the dominant risk factors for adverse health outcomes in older adults. It is crucial to investigate effective strategies to encourage older adults to maintain their physical activity. Dancing is recommended as a moderate-intensity activity to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and sustain activity levels. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates existing trials and synthesizes the effectiveness of a dancing intervention compared with exercising or non-exercising on CRF and quality of life (QoL) in the elderly population. METHODS: The review was conducted according to PERSiST (PRISMA in Exercise, Rehabilitation, Sports Medicine and SporTs Science) guidance. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024511808). Medline, Embase, Scopus, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched using the following terms: "Danc*/Dancing/Dance therapy/Dance movement therapy; Aging/Aged; Adult/Older adult/Elderly; Chronic disease/Long-term condition; Noncommunicable disease/non-communicable/noncommunicable". Randomized controlled trials with any style of dance were considered. Outcomes of interest included (1) cardiorespiratory fitness, (2) quality of life, and (3) muscle strength. Date of publication was limited to 2015-2025. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies involving 1,881 participants (72.85% women) were included. No difference in CRF [standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.89, 95% CI: -1.81-0.03, p = 0.0584, I 2 = 87%] and QoL (SMD 0.43, 95% CI -0.15 to 1.00; p = 0.14, I 2 = 0%) was found between the dancing and exercising groups. Meta-analysis showed a significant difference in muscle strength favouring dancing compared with the exercising group (SMD 1.64; 95% CI 0.96-2.33; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This review demonstrated that dance intervention has an effect comparable to that of exercise on improving CRF and QoL in elderly patients. The review also showed that dance is more effective than exercise in improving muscle strength. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42024511808), https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024511808.