Certainty assessment | Patients (n) | Effect | Certainty | Importance | ||||||||
Studies (n) | Study design | Risk of bias | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Other considerations | Recreational football | Other exercise and control | Relative (95% CI) | Absolute (95% CI) | ||
Systolic blood pressure OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 110 to 151) | ||||||||||||
17 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Publication bias strongly suspected* | 457 | 453 | – | MD 4.4 mm Hg lower (7.6 lower to 1.1 lower) | ⨁⨁⨁◯ MODERATE | |
Diastolic blood pressure OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 58 to 97) | ||||||||||||
17 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Publication bias strongly suspected* | 294 | 484 | – | MD 3.2 mm Hg lower (5.3 lower to 1.1 lower) | ⨁⨁⨁◯ MODERATE | |
Resting heart rate OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from: 51 to 80) | ||||||||||||
15 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Serious† | Not serious | Not serious | Publication bias strongly suspected* | 245 | 330 | – | MD 5.7 bpm lower (8.3 lower to 3.1 lower) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
Body mass index OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 22.5 to 35) | ||||||||||||
19 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 463 | 421 | – | MD 0.3 kg/m2 lower (0.6 lower to 0.1 lower) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Body mass OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 65 to 100) | ||||||||||||
19 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 557 | 502 | – | MD 2.1 kg lower (5.4 lower to 0.8 lower) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Lean body mass OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 38 to 67) | ||||||||||||
19 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 573 | 521 | – | 0.4 kg higher (0.1 higher to 0.8 higher) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Fat mass OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 19 to 38) | ||||||||||||
19 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Serious† | Not serious | Not serious | Publication bias strongly suspected* | 576 | 522 | – | MD 1.2 kg lower (1.7 lower to 0.6 lower) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
Muscular fitness OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 11.5 to 49.4) | ||||||||||||
10 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Very serious† | Not serious | Not serious | Publication bias strongly suspected* | 170 | 227 | – | MD 2.5 cm higher (0.9 higher to 4.1 higher) | ⨁◯◯◯ VERY LOW | |
Low-density lipoproteins OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 2.3 to 3.7) | ||||||||||||
10 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 273 | 214 | – | MD 0.2 mmol/l lower (0.4 lower to 0.1 lower) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Total cholesterol OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 3.2 to 5.9) | ||||||||||||
9 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 521 | 203 | – | MD 0.1 mmol/l lower (0.3 lower to 0.1 higher) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Triglycerides OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 0.7 to 3.7) | ||||||||||||
8 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 227 | 183 | – | MD 0.1 mmol/l lower (0.2 lower to 0) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Fasting glucose OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 4.8 to 8.8) | ||||||||||||
9 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 245 | 193 | – | MD 0.1 mmol/l lower (0.4 lower to 0.3 higher) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH | |
Glucose tolerance OVERALL (follow-up: range 12–54 weeks; scale from 24 to 69) | ||||||||||||
5 | Randomised trials | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | Not serious | None | 116 | 78 | – | MD 0.6 mmol/l higher (0.2 lower to 1.1 higher) | ⨁⨁⨁⨁ HIGH |
*Significant result (P<0.10) of Egger’s test for funnel plot asymmetry.
†Assumption of large heterogeneity.
GRADE, Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations; MD, mean difference.