Exercise and adults with hemophilia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise in patients with hemophilia. Methods: We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis guidelines. A literature search was conducted of published randomized controlled trials for exercise interventions from January 1, 2014 to March 15, 2023. To estimate the size of the effects of exercise, a meta-analysis was performed using the R package “meta.” Results: Five databases were searched to obtain articles published in Korean or English. Of 1,150 articles reviewed, 13 were included in the systematic review and 9 in the meta-analysis. The risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2.0. Results: The overall effect sizes of exercise interventions, calculated as the standardized mean difference, were -0.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.41 to –1.20) for pain, -2.13 (95% CI = -3.33 to -0.93) for joint health, 9.96 (95% CI = 7.51 to 12.28) for physical activity, and 0.59 (95% CI = -0.39 to -1.56) for quality of life. Conclusion: These findings suggest that exercise is useful for improving the joint health and physical activity of patients with hemophilia. Thus, it is necessary to develop and apply exercise interventions for patients with hemophilia to reduce their pain and improve their quality of life.