2. Sensitivity analysis: exploring impact on results (number of people who experienced one or more falls outcome).
| Sensitivity analysis | Pooled impact of intervention on risk of falling, Risk ratio, 95% CI |
| Exercise trials vs control | |
| Primary analysis, all exercise trials, random effects meta‐analysis | 0.90, 0.80 to 1.00; participants = 932; trials = 9 |
| Sensitivity analysis 1, removing trials with high risk of bias in any item | 0.87, 0.75 to 1.02; participants = 721; trials = 6 |
| Sensitivity analysis 2, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on random sequence generation | 0.89, 0.76 to 1.04; participants = 516; trials = 5 |
| Sensitivity analysis 3, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on allocation concealment | 0.91, 0.81 to 1.03; participants = 838; trials = 7 |
| Sensitivity analysis 4, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on assessor blinding | 0.93, 0.78 to 1.11; participants = 231; trials = 1 |
| Sensitivity analysis 5, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on incomplete outcome data | 0.89, 0.79 to 1.00; participants = 736; trials = 8 |
| Sensitivity analysis 6, removing trials with less than three months falls monitoring | 0.89, 0.77 to 1.02; participants = 789; trials = 7 |
| Sensitivity analysis 8, all exercise trials, fixed effects meta‐analysis | 0.90, 0.80 to 1.00; participants = 932; trials = 9 |
| Primary analysis, subgrouped by exercise type Gait, balance and functional training Resistance training 3D exercise |
0.92, 0.81 to 1.04; participants = 622; trials = 6 0.87, 0.43 to 1.74; participants = 136; trials = 2 0.59, 0.36 to 0.95; participants = 174; trials = 2 Test for subgroup differences Chi2 = 3.14, df = 2 (P = 0.21), I2 = 36.2% |
| Sensitivity analysis 10, classification of interventions that included functional strength training from resistance training to gait, balance and functional training Gait, balance and functional training Resistance training 3D exercise |
0.93, 0.83 to 1.05; participants = 720; trials = 7 0.58, 0.30 to 1.13; participants = 38; trials = 1 0.59, 0.36 to 0.95; participants = 174; trials = 2 Test for subgroup differences Chi2 = 5.02, df = 2 (P = 0.08), I2 = 60.1% |
| Medication trials ‐ cholinesterase inhibitor vs placebo | |
| Primary analysis, all trials, fixed effects meta‐analysis | 1.01, 0.90 to 1.14; participants = 230; trials = 3 |
| Sensitivity analysis 1, removing trials with high risk of bias in any item | 0.31, 0.12 to 0.78; participants = 81; trials = 1 |
| Sensitivity analysis 2, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on random sequence generation | 1.00, 0.87 to 1.15; participants = 130; trials = 1 |
| Sensitivity analysis 3, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on allocation concealment | 1.00, 0.87 to 1.15; participants = 130; trials = 1 |
| Sensitivity analysis 5, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on incomplete outcome data | 1.03, 0.92 to 1.16; participants = 149; trials = 2 |
| Sensitivity analysis 7, removing the comparison responsible for the high level of heterogeneity (Li 2015a) | 1.03, 0.92 to 1.16; participants = 149; trials = 2 |
| Sensitivity analysis 9, all cholinesterase inhibitor trials, random effects meta‐analysis | 0.95, 0.70 to 1.28; participants = 230; trials = 3 |
| Exercise plus education trials vs control | |
| Primary analysis, all trials, random effects meta‐analysis | 0.89, 0.75 to 1.07; participants = 352; trials = 3 |
| Sensitivity analysis 1, removing trials with high risk of bias in any item | 0.84, 0.65 to 1.08; participants = 156; trials = 2 |
| Sensitivity analysis 3, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on allocation concealment | 0.90, 0.75 to 1.08; participants = 320, trials = 2 |
| Sensitivity analysis 4, removing trials with unclear or high risk of bias on assessor blinding | 0.93, 0.73 to 1.19; participants = 228, trials = 2 |
| Sensitivity analysis 8, all exercise plus education trials, fixed effects meta‐analysis | 0.89, 0.75 to 1.07; participants = 352; trials = 3 |