Effect of behavioural interventions on physical activity, weight loss, physical function, health-related quality of life and depression in people with multimorbidity: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Abstract

\n Background To investigate the effect of behavioural interventions targeting lifestyle behaviours on physical activity, weight loss, physical function, health-related quality of life and depression in people with multimorbidity and to investigate which Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) are associated with better outcomes.Methods Systematic review of randomised controlled trials targeting lifestyle behaviours in people with multimorbidity following the Cochrane recommendations. Data sources included MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and CINAHL up to June 19th, 2020 and screening reference list of Cochrane reviews including people with multimorbidity, ongoing systematic reviews of the MOBILIZE project, the WHO registry and citation tracking of included studies. Meta-analyses using random-effects model to assess the effect of behavioural interventions on physical activity, weight loss, physical function and health-related quality of life and depression. Meta-regression analyses and effectiveness ratios to investigate the impact of pre-specified mediators of effect estimates. Cochrane ‘Risk of Bias Tool’ 2.0 and the GRADE assessment to evaluate the overall quality of evidence.Results Fourteen papers involving 1,378 people. Behavioural interventions had little to no effect on physical activity (standardised mean difference 0.38, 95%CI -0.12 to 0.61 – very low certainty) and the effect on weight loss is uncertain (BMI mean difference -0.17, 95%CI -1.17 to 0.83 – very low certainty) at the end-treatment follow-up (mean duration 23 weeks, SD 15). Small improvements were seen in health-related quality of life (SMD 0.29, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.42 – moderate certainty) and physical function (SMD 0.42, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.73 – low certainty), and moderate improvements were seen for depression symptoms (SMD -0.70, 95%CI -0.98 to -0.42 – moderate certainty). Studies using the BCTs ‘action planning’ and ‘social support (practical)’ reported greater physical activity and weight loss. The effects of behavioural interventions diminished for all the outcomes at long-term follow-ups (mean duration of 36 weeks, SD 15).Conclusions Behavioural interventions targeting lifestyle behaviours improve health-related quality of life and physical function, and reduce depression symptoms, whereas little to no effect was achieved on physical activity and weight loss in people with multimorbidity. However, the evidence for physical activity and weight loss were of low quality and the end-treatment benefits diminished over time.Systematic review protocol Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/r7pm5/