Aging Ment Health. 2026 Jan 7:1-19. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2026.2612737. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Older women in the U.S. report higher rates of poor mental health than older men. Increased physical activity is often recommended to older adults, as it is associated with improved neurocognitive function, mood regulation, and greater social participation. Functional fitness training has been shown to have several benefits for adults, but it is unknown if this exercise modality can have mental health benefits for older women.
METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted among CINAHL, Global Health, PsycInfo, SportsDiscus, and Web of Science databases with no publication date restrictions for articles describing the mental health outcomes of functional fitness interventions among samples that included women aged 60+ years of age.
RESULTS: Twenty-one articles from 12 countries were analyzed and assessed for risk of bias. Fifteen articles (71%) aligned with our research hypothesis that functional fitness training incurs statistically significant mental health benefits for older women, with outcomes such as reduced anxiety and/or depression and improved general mental health, social functioning, and/or quality of life. Moderate-intensity functional fitness exercise appeared to be as beneficial as high-intensity.
CONCLUSION: Few studies analyzed their results by sex/gender and most studies did not utilize samples of healthy, community-dwelling adults, so recommendations for future research are discussed.
PMID:41503751 | DOI:10.1080/13607863.2026.2612737
