Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30233156›Full record

SynthesisClinical interventions in aging2018

Physical activity can improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Zhen Du, Yuewei Li, Jinwei Li, Changli Zhou, Feng Li, Xige Yang

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

Synthesis in Clinical interventions in aging, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 16 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 16 pooled it
9.9field-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.

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

94 citing papers in PubMed, 16 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 211 citations in OpenAlex.

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  20. Regulation of autophagy-mediated pathways by diet, physical activity, and sleep in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review

34 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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Zhen DuDepartment of Internal Nursing, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130020, People's Republic of China, fli@jlu.edu.cn.
Yuewei LiDepartment of Internal Nursing, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130020, People's Republic of China, fli@jlu.edu.cn.
Jinwei LiDepartment of Internal Nursing, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130020, People's Republic of China, fli@jlu.edu.cn.
Changli ZhouDepartment of Internal Nursing, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130020, People's Republic of China, fli@jlu.edu.cn.
Feng LiDepartment of Internal Nursing, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130020, People's Republic of China, fli@jlu.edu.cn.
Xige YangDepartment of Anesthesiology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, People's Republic of China, xige_yang@163.com.
Jilin University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectiveAlzheimer's disease (AD) is mainly characterized by decline of cognitive functions such as memory and learning, which has a high prevalence and poor drug efficacy in treatment regimes. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise on cognitive function in patients diagnosed with AD.

methodsThe bibliographic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase, and Web of Science) and four Chinese databases (Wanfang data, CBM, CNKI, and VIP) were searched to identify RCTs published in any language between January 1, 1960, and January 1, 2018. Only peer-reviewed articles and RCTs were included. The collected data were analyzed by Review Manager (5.3).

resultsOverall, 869 patients diagnosed with AD were included from 13 RCTs. Patients in the intervention group received pure exercise interventions and a cognitive test. Although there was heterogeneity in intervention methods and cognitive measures among studies, meta-analysis (seven studies) supports positive effects of physical activity on cognitive function of patients with AD (mean difference [MD] =2.53, the 95% CI=0.84 to 4.22, test for overall effect:

conclusionThis meta-analysis and systematic review indicated that exercise intervention might improve the cognitive function of AD or slow down the decline of cognition; however, this relationship was not always true across studies. RCTs with clear intervention criteria, large samples, and long-term follow-up are needed in the future to demonstrate the benefits of exercise for cognitive function in AD patients.

Indexed as

CognitionAlzheimer DiseaseExerciseHumansMemoryRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAlzheimer’s diseasecognitive functionexerciserandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID30233156
PMCPMC6130261
OpenAlexW2889422179

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.