SynthesisPloS one2012
Physical activity and asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 11 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 166 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic and environmental risk factors of asthma: a narrative review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Analysis of Mining-Related Injuries in Chinese Coal Mines and Related Risk Factors: A Statistical Research Study Based on a Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Vitamin D and Asthma: a Systematic Review of Clinical Trials.Current nutrition reports · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Routine Therapy Assisted by Physical Exercise on Pulmonary Function in Patients with Asthma in Stable Stage: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of physical therapy on lung function in children with asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Pediatric research · 2021Pooled it
- Childhood asthma and physical activity: a systematic review with meta-analysis and Graphic Appraisal Tool for Epidemiology assessment.BMC pediatrics · 2016Pooled it
- Electroencephalographic Patterns in Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review of the Literature.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- Understanding how environmental enhancement and conservation activities may benefit health and wellbeing: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2015Pooled it
- Water-based exercise for adults with asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Physical training for asthma.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Effect of karaoke training applied with telerehabilitation-based exercise training on health-related outcomes in children with asthma.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Changes in patient conceptualization of asthma and asthma self-management at key timepoints across the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Barriers to and facilitators of exercise in children with asthma: protocol for a qualitative meta-synthesis.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Impact of Physical Exercise on Adult Asthma Control: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Association between electronic screen time and childhood asthma: a cross-sectional study using NHANES 1999-2014 data.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Impact of Structured Aerobic Exercise on Symptom Burden and Lung Function in Adults with Asthma: A Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical practice and research · 2025Article
- Impact of lifestyle factors on adult-onset asthma in genetically high-risk individuals.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Asthma Exacerbation in Indonesia: Analysis of Mental, Socio-demographic, Behavioral, and Biological Risk Factors Using the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2025Article
- Virtual Reality and Videogaming in Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Asthma: A Systematic Review of Clinical Outcomes and Engagement.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Review
10 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
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThis review aims to give an overview of available published evidence concerning the association between physical activity and asthma in children, adolescents and adults.
methodsWe included all original articles in which both physical activity and asthma were assessed in case-control, cross-sectional or longitudinal (cohort) studies. Excluded were studies concerning physical fitness, studies in athletes, therapeutic or rehabilitation intervention studies such as physical training or exercise in asthma patients. Methodological quality of the included articles was assessed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).
resultsA literature search was performed until June 2011 and resulted in 6,951 publications derived from PubMed and 1,978 publications from EMBASE. In total, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria: 5 longitudinal studies (total number of subjects n = 85,117) with physical activity at baseline as exposure, and asthma incidence as outcome. Thirty-four cross-sectional studies (n = 661,222) were included. Pooling of the longitudinal studies showed that subjects with higher physical activity levels had lower incidence of asthma (odds ratio 0.88 (95% CI: 0.77-1.01)). When restricting pooling to the 4 prospective studies with moderate to good study quality (defined as NOS≥5) the pooled odds ratio only changed slightly (0.87 (95% CI: 0.77-0.99)). In the cross-sectional studies, due to large clinical variability and heterogeneity, further statistical analysis was not possible.
conclusionsThe available evidence indicates that physical activity is a possible protective factor against asthma development. The heterogeneity suggests that possible relevant effects remain hidden in critical age periods, sex differences, or extremes of levels of physical activity (e.g. sedentary). Future longitudinal studies should address these issues.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.