Background Traditional interventions such as education and counseling are successful in increasing physical activity (PA) participation, but are usually labor and resource intensive. Wearable activity trackers can objectively record PA and provide feedback to help users to achieve activity goals and are an increasingly popular tool among adults used to facilitate self-monitoring of PA. However, no reviews systematically explored the roles of wearable activity trackers in older populations. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus from inception to September 10, 2022. Randomized controlled trials were included. Two reviewers independently conducted study selection, data extraction, risk of bias, and certainty of evidence assessment. A random-effects model was used to evaluate the effect size. Results A total of 45 studies with 7144 participants were included. A wearable activity tracker was effective in increasing daily steps (standard mean differences (SMD) = 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.44, 0.75)), weekly moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (SMD = 0.54, 95% CI (0.36, 0.72)), and total daily PA (SMD = 0.21, 95% CI (0.01, 0.40)) and reducing sedentary time (SMD = −0.10, 95% CI (−0.19, −0.01)). Subgroup analysis showed that the effectiveness of wearable activity trackers for daily steps was not influenced by participants and intervention features. However, wearable activity trackers seemed more effective in promoting MVPA of participant's age <70 than participant's age ≥70. In addition, wearable activity trackers incorporated with traditional intervention components (e.g. telephone counseling, goal setting, and self-monitoring) could better promote MVPA than alone use. Short-term interventions potentially achieve better MVPA increase than long-term. Conclusion This review showed that wearable activity trackers are an effective tool to increase PA for the old population and also favor reducing sedentary time. When used together with other interventions, wearable activity trackers can achieve better MVPA increase, especially in the short term. However, how to more effectively improve the effectiveness of wearable activity trackers is an important direction of future research.

Aims Arterial stiffness is an important risk factor of arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular events. Sedentary behavior (SB) is associated with increased risk for chronic cardiovascular diseases and poor health outcomes. This study aims to investigate the associations of objectively measured patterns of SB with arterial stiffness in Chinese community-dwelling older women. Methods and Results Cross-sectional data were derived from the baseline survey of the Physical Activity and Health in Older Women Study (PAHIOWS). Arterial stiffness was evaluated through cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), CAVI ≥ 9 was defined as cutoff point. SB patterns including sedentary time in SB bouts of ≥10, 30 and 60 min, number of SB bouts ≥ 10, 30 and 60 min, were measured via tri-axial accelerometers. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate associations of different SB patterns with arterial stiffness. Of the total 1125 women aged 60-70, the prevalence of CAVI ≥ 9 was 25.8%. After adjustment for confounding factors, only sedentary time in SB bout ≥ 30 min and 60 min, number of SB bouts ≥ 60 min were associated with arterial stiffness, with an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.06 (1.00-1.12) and 1.11 (1.03-1.20) per 30 min increase per day, 1.35 (1.05-1.74) per bout per day, respectively. Conclusions Longer duration of prolonged SB periods was associated with higher level of arterial stiffness. Shortening and interrupting accumulated periods of SB may be an achievable strategy to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease in self-care and cardiovascular nursing.

BackgroundThis study aimed to explore the association between physical activity (PA) and fear of falling (FOF) and to determine whether this relationship was mediated by physical fitness (PF) in community-dwelling older women.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, a total of 1,108 older women were recruited. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and light physical activity (LPA) were objectively measured by accelerometers. Physical fitness indicators including body mass index (BMI), forced vital capacity, choice reaction time, grip strength, sit and reach, and five times sit-to-stand were measured. FOF was evaluated by the Chinese version of the activities-specific balance confidence scale. A stepwise linear regression model analysis was used for mediation analysis, and bootstrap analysis was used to verify the mediation effects.ResultThe Pearson correlation coefficient results suggested that MVPA was significantly and negatively correlated with FOF while LPA was not correlated with FOF. Logistic regression analysis suggested a significant association between MVPA, BMI, forced vital capacity, choice reaction time, sit and reach, grip strength, five times sit-to-stand, and FOF. The mediation analysis showed a negative relationship between MVPA and FOF. BMI completely mediated the relationship between MVPA and FOF while sit and reach, five times sit-to-stand, and forced vital capacity partially mediated the relationship between MVPA and FOF.ConclusionAccumulation of more daily MVPA was associated with reducing the odds of FOF in community-dwelling older women. PF indicators fully or partially mediate the relationship between MVPA and FOF. Therefore, more intervention efforts should focus on the promotion of MVPA to improve PF and thus reduce FOF among older women.