Twenty RCTs (n=2,119) were included.
TCC in the elderly (6 studies, recruiting mostly from community settings).
One study and an apparently associated follow-up study (n=256) reported a reduction in the risk of falls at 6 weeks, but no difference at 6 months, in patients allocated to TCC compared with stretching. One study (n=118) reported improvements in measures of sleep in patients allocated to TCC compared with low-impact exercise. One study (n=200) reported a reduction in fear of falling, reduced falls and a lowered systolic blood-pressure in patients allocated to TCC compared with computer-balanced training or an educational intervention. One study (n=311) reported improved chair-rise tests and cardiovascular outcomes in patients allocated to TCC compared with a wellness education intervention, but there was no difference between these interventions in the risk of falls. One study (n=207) reported no difference in body composition, blood-pressure, lipids, and glycaemic or insulin sensitivity indexes between patients allocated to TCC and to resistance training. Two studies were in patients with vestibulopathy. The one study that was specifically in older people (n=36) reported no improvement in gaze stability with TCC compared with conventional rehabilitation.
TCC in patients with cardiovascular disease (the text reported that 4 studies including 2 studies that enrolled more than 75 patients were in this patient group).
One of the larger studies (n=76) reported significantly reduced systolic blood-pressure, improved fasting lipid profile, and decreased state and trait anxiety in patients allocated to TCC compared with a sedentary intervention. The other larger study (n=126) reported reductions in systolic and diastolic blood-pressure in patients allocated to TCC compared with reductions in only systolic blood-pressure in patients allocated to aerobic exercise. One smaller study (n=30) reported improved QOL and increased walk test performance in patients allocated to TCC compared with a waiting-list control. The fourth study was not described in the text.
Chronic disease and immunity.
Studies reported reduced pain in patients with osteoarthritis allocated to TCC (based on 1 study, n=72), improved varicella-zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity in patients allocated to TCC (1 study, n=36), and improved physical functioning and some QOL measures in patients allocated to TCC or sedentary intervention (1 study, n=38). This section of the text also reported results from a small uncontrolled study but did not mention one study (20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis) that was described in the tables.
Psychological outcomes.
One study (76 patients with borderline hypertension, already mentioned under cardiovascular disease above) reported reductions in trait anxiety among patients allocated to TCC. One study (n=30) reported reduced depressive symptoms among patients allocated to TCC compared with waiting-list control.
Cancer survivors.
One study (number of participants reported as 29 in the text and 21 in the tables) reported improvements in QOL in patients allocated to TCC compared with reductions in patients receiving psychological support.