ArticlePloS one2012
Exercise increases serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) levels.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01512368 (Changes in Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21), which is not on this map. Cited by 104 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Changes in Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) Levels After a Cardiorespiratory Exercise Program
Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 171 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Exercise-Induced Fibroblast Growth Factor-21: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Close association between lifestyle and circulating FGF21 levels: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Preserving brain health in aging: structural and biochemical benefits of water based resistance training, a randomized controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2026Trial
- Effect of exercise on Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 levels in healthy males and females.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Exercise Intervention on Mitochondrial Stress Biomarkers in Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Divergent effects of resistance and endurance exercise on plasma bile acids, FGF19, and FGF21 in humans.JCI insight · 2018Trial
- The effects of exercise training associated with low-level laser therapy on biomarkers of adipose tissue transdifferentiation in obese women.Lasers in medical science · 2018Trial
- Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training on Body Composition and Blood Glucose in Overweight and Obese Young Women.Journal of diabetes research · 2016Trial
- Effects of lifestyle modification and metformin on irisin and FGF21 among HIV-infected subjects with the metabolic syndrome.Clinical endocrinology · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Perinatal Changes in Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 and Their Association With Postpartum Insulin Resistance in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2026Observational
- Muscle-Tumor Crosstalk in Exercise Oncology: Exercise-Induced Myokines and Cancer Cachexia.Cancers · 2026Review
- Two-Way Communication Between Skeletal Muscle and Myokines.Cell biochemistry and function · 2026Review
- Exercise as a Metabolic Therapy for MASLD: Beyond Weight Loss Toward Sustainable Exercise Strategies.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Reexamining Fat: Exploring Diversity, Plasticity, Development, Functional Implication, and Therapeutic Options.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Functions of FGF21 and its role in cardiac hypertrophy.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Obesity and Exercise: New Insights and Perspectives.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) increases glucose uptake. It is unknown if FGF21 serum levels are affected by exercise. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsThis was a comparative longitudinal study. Anthropometric and biochemical evaluation were carried out before and after a bout of exercise and repeated after two weeks of daily supervised exercise. The study sample was composed of 60 sedentary young healthy women. The mean age was 24±3.7 years old, and the mean BMI was 21.4±7.0 kg/m². The anthropometric characteristics did not change after two weeks of exercise. FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of exercise (276.8 ng/l (142.8-568.6) vs. (460.8 (298.2-742.1), p<0.0001)). The delta (final-basal) log of serum FGF21, adjusted for BMI, showed a significant positive correlation with basal glucose (r = 0.23, p = 0.04), mean maximal heart rate (MHR) (r = 0.54, p<0.0001), mean METs (r = 0.40, p = 0.002), delta plasma epinephrine (r = 0.53, p<0.0001) and delta plasma FFAs (r = 0.35, p = 0.006). A stepwise linear regression model showed that glucose, MHR, METs, FFAs, and epinephrine, were factors independently associated with the increment in FGF21 after the exercise program (F = 4.32; r² = 0.64, p<0.0001).
conclusionsSerum FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of physical activity. This increment correlated positively with clinical parameters related to the adrenergic and lipolytic response to exercise.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01512368.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.