Table 1 Basic information table of the included literature

Liu Z [22]

2018

USA

RCT(1164)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

No cognitive frailty; prefrail without MCI; frail without MCI; nonfrail with MCI; prefrail with MCI; cognitive frailty;

Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index; Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) scale

Sports coach/ unspecified

Twice weekly physical activity sessions at the Senior Activity Centre: Walking (30 min/rep), Lower body strength training (10 min/rep), Flexibility (35 min/rep), Balance; Family activities 3 to 4 times a week

24 months

Exercise intensity scale to guide exercise interventions, individualised and low to high intensity

Low odds of worsening cognitive frailty and unchanged effect of IL-6 levels on cognitive frailty at baseline

Lack of exercise process monitoring, exercise safety and effectiveness not evaluated

Kwan RY [23]

2020

Hong Kong

RCT(16/17)

Ruan Q et al. [6] Criteria: mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical frailty (including both frailty and prefrailty)

Clinical Dementia Rating; Montreal Cognitive Assessment

(MoCA); Fried Frailty Index (FFI)

Unspecified/mobile health devices

Week 1 health education, First two weeks of brisk walking training; 3 to 12 weeks (after smartphone training) Self-paced brisk walking training + Mobile health interventions (Setting short-term personalised goals; encouraging text messages; e-coaching and reminders; self-tracking and more)

12 weeks

Electronic message alerts (personalisation);

Goal grading based on baseline health, past performance, personal aspirations and so on

Improved cognitive function (in both groups);Significant reduction in frailty and improvement in walking time and stride length in the intervention group

Blindness not implemented; Small sample size; Limited applicability of the findings to people who do not walk regularly; Other confounding factors in mobile health interventions not controlled

Kwan RYC [24]

2021

Hong Kong

RCT(9/8)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

The coexistence of MCI and physical frailty without being severe enough to have dementia

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); Clinical Dementia Rating; Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) scale

Research Assistant

Community Service Centres: VR cognitive training and motor training. Cognitive training through simulated daily activities + video games; Physical training through cycling in a virtual environment, 2 times a week for 30 min each time

8 weeks

Adjust the amount of exercise based on participant preference and previous cycling performance; Participants and interveners consult together; Cognitive training difficulty levels

Significant improvement in cognitive function in the intervention group;

Weakness was similar in both groups; Walking speed has improved

May participate in other projects at the time of intervention, confounding factors not controlled; How to train CF seniors in VR operations not explained; Sample size too small and poorly represented

Chen X [25]

2021

China

RCT(29/30)

Ruan Q et al. [6] Criteria: mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical frailty (including both frailty and prefrailty)

Beijing version of the

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA- BJ) scale; Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) scale

Physiotherapist/Nurse

Health Education + 12 weeks of group OEP (Otago Campaign Program), OEP consists of 5 min of warm-up, 10 min of resistance training and 15 min of balance training;30 min per session, Monday, Wednesday and Friday interventions

3 months

Instruction according to exercise level, complete lower level tasks and move on to higher level tasks

Improved physical functional status, reduced depressive symptoms

Small sample trials with limited generalisability of results; Lack of objective data for exercise process monitoring, subjective judgement by nurses

Xia R [26]

2020

China

RCT(51/51)

Won CW’s [32] definition of CF: physical frailty; more than 1.5 standard deviations below the mean for age-, gender-, and education-adjusted norms on any cognitive function test; no dependency in instrumental activities of daily living

Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS)-Chinese Revised; Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); Global Deterioration Scale (GDS)

Sports coach/ Intervention supervisor

Group intervention in community activity centres, health education + Ba Duan Jin training, 3 times a week for 60 min each time (including 15 min of warm-up activities, 40 min of Baduanjin exercises and 5 min of finishing activities)

24 weeks

Uniform Ba Duan Jin training, no personalised content involved

Significant improvement in frailty (moderate intensity activity, increased grip strength), improved cognitive function (total cognitive score, visuospatial, verbal and delayed memory, enhanced recall on complex graphical tests)

Lack of monitoring of the exercise process, lack of safety measures and lack of individualised programmes according to the subject's mastery of the Ba Duan Jins

Ye M [27]

2021

China

RCT(45/45)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

The coexistence of MCI and physical frailty without being severe enough to have dementia

Diagnosis of MCI with reference to Petersen criteria; Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) scale

Rehabilitators, community doctors, family members

First 2 weeks in hospital rehabilitation unit with community practitioners and family members throughout; 3–12 weeks Nutrition promotion at CHC or home + multicomponent exercise prescription (aerobics, resistance exercise, balance training and flexibility training)Community general practitioner and family companionship and guidance, with follow-up visits every 2 weeks by a rehabilitator; 3 times a week for 45 min each time

6 months

The resistance load is set according to the patient's increased level of resistance to exercise, using the Borg Subjective Exertion Rating Scale

Useful for debilitating phenotypes, mild cognitive impairment, dietary intake, and improvement in nutritional status

How to determine if a family member has the ability to direct supervision is not indicated

Merchant RA [28]

2021

Singapore

quasi-experimental study (129)

Four CF definitions: Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome (MCR); Physio-cognitive Decline Syndrome (PCDS); reversible CF; potentially reversible CF

Chinese Mini-Mental State Examination (cMMSE); Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); 5-item FRAIL questionnaire

Health Coach/Unspecified

Dual task training (whole body movement exercises and cognitive training) in community activity centres: Strength training with resistance bands; Aerobic exercise using pedals and marching; Balance + subtraction/addition/naming/recall tasks; Weekly 60-min exercise sessions (20-min stretching warm-up, 40-min dual task training)

3 months

80 dual task training programmes of varying intensity, with health coaches tailoring the intensity of the workout to the participants' functional ability

Significant improvement in overall cognitive function and reduced incidence of frailty

Different types and intensities of interventions per week for the target population; More female research subjects, limited representation; Nonrandomised controlled trials

Murukesu RR [29]

2020

Malaysia

RCT (not mentioned)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

The coexistence of MCI and physical frailty without being severe enough to have dementia

Fried Frailty

Phenotype (FFP) scale; Clinical Dementia Rating Score

Rehabilitator/Researcher

First 12 weeks Older People's Activity Centre group intervention-Multicomponent exercise programme, includes progressive resistance training, cardio, balance and flexibility training, balance training based on OEP (Otago Exercise Program) adaptations,90 min each time. Remaining 12 weeks: family activities, 2 times a week, distribution of "WE-RISE at Home" packs (training kits)

6 months

Graded intervention goals: 1–4 weeks (level 1), 5–8 weeks (level 2), 9–12 weeks (level 3) with increasing intensity of exercise and cognitive training

Experiment in progress, no results reported

Lack of objective equipment monitoring during exercise; lack of safeguards for adherence to home interventions

Ponvel P [30]

2021

Malaysia

RCT(165/165)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

The coexistence of MCI and physical frailty without being severe enough to have dementia

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR);

Fried Frailty

Phenotype (FFP) scale

Sports coach/not mentioned

Activity centres: a combination of individual counselling and groups, exercise activities (multicomponent group training) 3 times a week; Remote, family guidance during outbreaks, provision of educational materials

24 month intervention + 12 month assessment for sustainability

Progressive strength training and exercise frequency, tailor-made exercise programmes based on exercise prescriptions

Experiment in progress, no results reported

Movement process monitoring not specified; baseline uniformity not guaranteed

Yoon DH [31]

2018

Korea

RCT(32/33)

IANA/IAGG Standards:

The coexistence of MCI and physical frailty without being severe enough to have dementia

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K); Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR); Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s disease;

Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) criteria

Training Instructors

High-speed resistance training at the community activity centre: elastic exercise bands, 10 min warm-up + 40 min high-speed resistance training (seated rowing, single-leg press, lateral leg raise, half-squat, etc.) + 10 min rest after exercise

4 months

The intensity of the exercise is determined by the colour of the elastic exercise band

Improved cognitive function (processing speed and executive function); improved physical function (SPPB, TUG, gait speed); improved muscle strength (grip strength, knee extension), little change in debility score

Unclear criteria for judging different exercise intensities; small sample trials with limited generalisability of results