Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24885250›Full record

SynthesisBMC public health2014

Does physical activity prevent cognitive decline and dementia?: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

Sarah J Blondell, Rachel Hammersley-Mather, J Lennert Veerman

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC public health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06181500 (Home-Based Exercise in Primary Progressive Aphasia), which is not on this map. Cited by 404 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
404citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
29.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06181500 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Home-Based Exercise in Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Pilot Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorMontreal Heart InstituteRan2023 to 2024Enrolled13ConditionsPrimary Progressive Aphasia, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Logopenic Progressive Aphasia, Semantic DementiaArmsHome-based multicomponent exercise intervention program
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

404 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 910 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Evaluating the Impact of Stair Climbing on Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2026
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  5. Selected social and lifestyle correlates of brain health markers: the Cross-Cohort Collaboration Consortium.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
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  17. Associations of long-term exposure to source-specific PMEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  18. [Walkability in older age: built environment factors and function-sensitive assessment in urban areas].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

344 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sarah J Blondell
Rachel Hammersley-Mather
J Lennert VeermanThe University of Queensland, School of Population Health, 4006 Herston, Queensland, Australia. l.veerman@sph.uq.edu.au.
University of Queensland · AUUniversity of Southern Queensland · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBy 2050, it has been estimated that approximately one-fifth of the population will be made up of older adults (aged ≥60 years). Old age often comes with cognitive decline and dementia. Physical activity may prevent cognitive decline and dementia.

methodsWe reviewed and synthesised prospective studies into physical activity and cognitive decline, and physical activity and dementia, published until January 2014. Forty-seven cohorts, derived from two previous systematic reviews and an updated database search, were used in the meta-analyses. Included participants were aged ≥40 years, in good health and/or randomly selected from the community. Studies were assessed for methodological quality.

resultsTwenty-one cohorts on physical activity and cognitive decline and twenty-six cohorts on physical activity and dementia were included. Meta-analysis, using the quality-effects model, suggests that participants with higher levels of physical activity, when compared to those with lower levels, are at reduced risk of cognitive decline, RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.55-0.76, and dementia, RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.97. Sensitivity analyses revealed a more conservative estimate of the impact of physical activity on cognitive decline and dementia for high quality studies, studies reporting effect sizes as ORs, greater number of adjustments (≥10), and longer follow-up time (≥10 years). When one heavily weighted study was excluded, physical activity was associated with an 18% reduction in the risk of dementia (RR 0.82; 0.73-0.91).

conclusionsLongitudinal observational studies show an association between higher levels of physical activity and a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia. A case can be made for a causal interpretation. Future research should use objective measures of physical activity, adjust for the full range of confounders and have adequate follow-up length. Ideally, randomised controlled trials will be conducted. Regardless of any effect on cognition, physical activity should be encouraged, as it has been shown to be beneficial on numerous levels.

Indexed as

Motor ActivityAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesDementiaFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID24885250
PMCPMC4064273
OpenAlexW2105024128

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.