Table 2.

Summary of findings

People with multimorbidity participating in exercise therapy RCTs
Patient or population: People with two or more chronic conditions Intervention: Exercise therapy Comparison: Usual care, education, or other non-exercise groups
Outcomes follow-up	Proportion (95% CI)	I-squared	Numbers of people (studies)	Quality of the evidence (GRADE)
Recruitment rates	0.74 (0.66, 0.83)	99%	2645 (21 RCTs)	⊕ ⊖  ⊖ ⊖a,b (Very low)
Retention rates Timepoint: end of treatment	0.90 (0.86, 0.94)	95%	3154 (22 RCTs)	⊕ ⊖  ⊖ ⊖a,b (Very low)
Differential retention rates* Timepoint: end of treatment	−0.01 (−0.05, 0.02)	61%	3154 (22 RCTs)	⊕ ⊖  ⊖ ⊖a,b (Very low)

*The basis of the differential retention rate is calculated by subtracting numbers providing intervention outcomes from numbers providing comparison outcomes

RCTs (randomised controlled trials), CI (95% Confidence Interval), GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation)

GRADE Working Group grades of evidence

High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect

Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate

Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate

Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate

^aDowngraded one due to considerable heterogeneity without a plausible explanation

^bDowngraded one due to indirectness of people