OBJECTIVE: We conducted a meta-analysis using individual patient data to examine the efficacy of exercise for improving bone mineral density at the femoral neck in postmenopausal women. STUDY DESIGN: Ten controlled clinical trials that included 595 subjects (aged 42 to 92 years) met our criteria for inclusion. Changes in femoral neck bone mineral density were examined by 2-way analysis of variance tests with repeated measures on 1 factor. RESULTS: Across all designs and categories, there was an increase in bone mineral density of 0.73% +/- 5.52% and 0.45% +/- 6.78%, respectively, in the exercise and control subjects. However, comparison of initial and final bone mineral density values between exercise and control subjects revealed no statistically significant effect of exercise on femoral neck bone mineral density (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Collectively, the exercise protocols that were used in this individual patient data meta-analysis do not improve femoral neck bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
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