Table 1 Population characteristics of the studies included in qualitative analysis

1

Arai (2007) [37]

Community dwelling older adults > 65 years who were ambulatory with or without assisting device (Japan)

1.24 (0.21)

1.26 (0.20)

1.28 (0.24)

1.30 (0.22)

2

Baker (2007) [40]

Community dwelling older adults ≥ 60 years, residents in the retirement villages (Australia)

1.19 (0.23)

1.16 (0.25)

1.23 (0.28)

1.12 (0.23)

3

Barnett (2003) [39]

Community dwelling with one or more risk factors for falls (Australia)

0.97 (0.35)

0.98 (0.38)

0.95 (0.30)

0.98 (0.30)

4

Beling (2009) [27] (Not included in meta-analysis PEDro < 5)!

Community dwelling older adults ≥ 65 years, MMSE* score ≥ 24/30, complete a Timed Up and Go test ≥ 13.5 s, and/or have 2 or more falls in the past year or 1 fall with injury (Canada)

0.90 (0.22)

0.91 (0.21)

0.88 (0.20)

0.95 (0.22)

5

Cress (1999) [34]

Community dwelling older adults ≥70 years (USA)

1.37 (0.30)

1.36 (0.16)

1.46 (0.20)

1.52 (0.13)

6

Doi (2013) [41]

Community dwelling older adults ≥ 65 years with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MMSE score between 24 and 30 and memory impairment (Japan)

1.10 (0.20)

1.26 (0.21)

1.10 (0.32)

1.38 (0.32)

7

Fiatarone (1994) [29]

Nursing home residents (long term care) >70 years (USA)

0.47 (0.20)

0.45 (0.10)

0.51 (0.20)

0.55 (0.10)

8

Freiberger (2007) [30]

Community dwelling older adults ≥70 years (Germany)

1.30 (0.30)

1.30 (0.30)

1)1.30 (0.30)

1)1.30 (0.20)

2)1.40 (0.30)

2)1.40 (0.20)

9

Freiberger (2012) [32]

Community dwelling older adults ≥70 years, having fallen in the past 6 months or with fear of falling (Germany)

0.95 (0.27)

0.97 (0.18)

1)0.95 (0.22)

1)0.92 (0.22)

2)0.98 (0.18)

2)1.00 (0.17)

3)0.98 (0.20)

3)0.95 (0.20)

10

Gine-Garriga (2010) [38]

Physically frail home-dwelling persons >10 s. on rapid gait test / not able to make 5 chair stands with hands folded or self-reported exhaustion (Spain)

0.82 (0.04)

0.80 (0.04)

0.82 (0.04)

0.94 (0.04)

11

Granacher (2012) [45]

Community dwelling older adults between 63–82 years (Germany)

1.42 (0.14)

1.42 (0.14)

1.34 (0.20)

1.49 (0.26)

12

Granacher (2013) [49]

Community dwelling older adults between 63–80 years without prior experience with core stability training (Germany)

1.42 (0.15)

1.42 (0.19)

1.41 (0.14)

1.53 (0.14)

13

Halvarsson (2011) [47]

Healthy community dwelling older adults > 65 with fear of falling and/or an experience of a fall during the previous 12 months, ability to walk unaided indoors and a MMSE score ≥24. (Sweden)

1.09 (0.22)

1.10 (0.23)

1.11 (0.24)

1.20 (0.17)

14

Hartmann (2009) [43]

Community dwelling older adults > 65 (Switzerland)

1.33 (0.19)

1.27 (0.14)

1.34 (0.19)

1.41 (0.19)

15

Kerrigan (2003) [17]

Healthy community dwelling older adults ≥ 65 (USA)

1.19 (0.17)

1.23 (0.18)

1.19 (0.18)

1.23 (0.18)

16

Kim (2011) [42]

Community dwelling elderly women with multiple symptoms of geriatric syndrome ≥ 70 (Japan)

1.20 (0.20)

1.10 (0.30)

1.10 (0.30)

1.10 (0.30)

17

Lazowski (1999) [28]

Residents of long-term care institutions with the ability to stand with minimal assistance, follow simple instructions/ demonstrations (Canada)

0.57 (0.27)

0.61 (0.31)

0.69 (0.28)

0.73 (0.33)

18

Lord (1996) [26] (Not included in meta-analysis PEDro < 5)!

Community-dwelling women 60-years and older

1.15 (0.19)

1.12 (0.18)

1.12 (0.19)

1.18 (0.18)

19

Liu-Ambrose (2004) [31]

Elderly women with osteoporosis or osteopenia (Canada)

0.91 (0.20)

1.00 (0.19)

1)1.02 (0.25)

1)1.11 (0.22)

2)1.02 (0.19)

2)1.09 (0.19)

20

Lustosa (2011) [36]

Thirty-two women, over 65 years old, community-dwelling, without restriction regarding race and/or social class, classified as pre-frail according to the criteria established by Fried et al. were selected (Brazil)

1.22 (0.22)

1.23 (0.16)

1.24 (0.14)

1.38 (0.16)

21

Persch (2009) [35]

Elderly women (aged 60 years and over) attending local community meetings in the vicinity of the University (Brazil)

1.09 (0.11)

1.08 (0.14)

1.10 (0.03)

1.23 (0.07)

22

Tiedemann (2013) [50]

Community-dwelling older adults (Australia)

1.60 (0.24)

1.43 (0.21)

1.54 (0.23)

1.67 (0.17)

23

Topp (1996) [25] (Not included in meta-analysis PEDro < 5)!

Community-dwelling older adults (USA)

1.22 (0.14)

1.24 (0.11)

1.24 (0.14)

1.28 (0.06)

24

Trombetti (2010) [44]

Community-dwelling individuals older than 65 years, who are at increased risk of falling (Switzerland)

1.02 (0.19)

1.04 (0.13)

1.04 (0.19)

1.10 (0.13)

25

Watt (2011) [18]

Healthy older adults with aged 65 years and older (USA)

1.22 (0.21)

1.22 (0.19)

1.31 (0.25)

1.33 (0.24)

26

Watt (2011) [18] Frail Elderly

Frail elderly with (1) a low Instrumental Activities of Daily Living score (<3/5); (2) a major orthopedic diagnosis in the lower back, pelvis, or lower extremities since the age of 50 years; or (3) a performance on a Mini Mental Status Examination of less than 24 out of 30 (USA)

1.10 (0.20)

1.10 (0.20)

1.15 (0.2)

1.20 (0.20)

27

Wolf (2006) [48]

Transitionally frail older adults from independent living facilities with 4 frail and no more than 1 vigorous attributes according to the criteria of Speechly & Tinetti (USA)

0.94 (0.49)

0.99 (0.45)

1.01 (0.48)

1.08 (0.44)

28

Yang (2011)

Older people (>65 years) who reported concerns about their balance but remained community ambulant (Australia)

1.09 (0.22)

1.04 (0.23)

1.02 (0.26)

1.02 (0.22)