Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29671803›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2018

Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: A Systematic Review.

Ilona Bidzan-Bluma, Małgorzata Lipowska

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
159citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

159 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Physical Activity, Cognitive Health and Learning in Youth: A Narrative Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. The effect of exercise on cognitive function in breast cancer survivors: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
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  8. Impact of structural-level environmental interventions on physical activity: a systematic review.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2023
    Pooled it
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  10. High-Intensity Interval Training upon Cognitive and Psychological Outcomes in Youth: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Pooled it
  11. Pooled it
  12. Physical Activity and Cognitive Aspects of Self-Regulation in Preschool-Aged Children: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Pooled it
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  20. The effects of sports activity on cognition in nine- and ten-year-old children.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2026
    Article

99 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

2 authors.

Ilona Bidzan-BlumaNeuropsychological Diagnostic and Therapy Centre, Chmielna, 80-748 Gdansk, Poland. ilonabidzanbluma@onet.pl.
Małgorzata LipowskaInstitute of Psychology, University of Gdansk, Bażyńskiego 4, 80-309 Gdansk, Poland. malgorzata.lipowska@ug.edu.pl.ORCID 0000-0002-7422-159X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Childhood is an important and sensitive period for cognitive development. There is limited published research regarding the relationship between sports and cognitive functions in children. We present studies that demonstrate the influence of physical activity on health, especially a positive correlation between sports and cognitive functions. The keywords “children, cognition, cognitive function, physical activity, and brain” were searched for using PsycInfo, Medline, and Google Scholar, with publication dates ranging from January 2000 to November 2017. Of the 617 results, 58 articles strictly connected to the main topics of physical activity and cognitive functioning were then reviewed. The areas of attention, thinking, language, learning, and memory were analyzed relative to sports and childhood. Results suggest that engaging in sports in late childhood positively influences cognitive and emotional functions. There is a paucity of publications that investigate the impact of sports on pre-adolescents’ cognitive functions, or explore which cognitive functions are developed by which sporting disciplines. Such knowledge would be useful in developing training programs for pre-adolescents, aimed at improving cognitive functions that may guide both researchers and practitioners relative to the wide range of benefits that result from physical activity.

Indexed as

AttentionChildCognitionExerciseHumansLanguageMemorySportsbrainchildhoodcognitionhealthsport

Identifiers

PMID29671803
PMCPMC5923842

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.