ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2020
Sex-Specific Relationship Between Long-Term Maintenance of Physical Activity and Cognition in the Health ABC Study: Potential Role of Hippocampal and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Volume.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term physical activity, brain structure, and cognitive function: a systematic review of longitudinal observational evidence.BMC neurology · 2026Pooled it
- A combined exercise and cognitive training intervention induces fronto-cingulate cortical plasticity in first-episode psychosis patients.Schizophrenia research · 2023Trial
- Physical Activity Since Childhood and its Association with Changes in Midlife Cognitive Functions: A Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2026Article
- Interaction of diet and physical activity on dementia risk: the Rotterdam study.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2026Article
- The active ingredients: physical activity features linked to healthy brain aging.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2026Article
- Can aerobic exercise really improve factors related to decision-making capacity in aging? What has been measured, what has been assumed, and what needs to change.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Cognitive reserve, frailty status, and risk of neurodegenerative diseases: a prospective cohort study.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2025Article
- Astrocytes as Metabolic Sensors Orchestrating Energy-Driven Brain Vulnerability in Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Review
- Beyond FITT: addressing density in understanding the dose-response relationships of physical activity with health-an example based on brain health.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Gender Differences in the Effects of Exercise Interventions on Alzheimer's Disease.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Longitudinal relationships between daily activity and hippocampal atrophy in Japanese dwellers.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Article
- Investigating biological sex as a moderator of the association of nature exposure with brain health: a cross-sectional UK biobank analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Connecting the Dots: Gender, Sexuality, and Societal Influences on Cognitive Aging and Alzheimer's Disease.Current aging science · 2025Review
- Age and Sex-Related Differences in Neuroprotective Effects of Cardiovascular Endurance on Cortical Thickness and Brain Volume in Adults Across Age.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Exercise: Just What the Doctor Ordered, But Why? Elucidating Mechanisms for Women's Increased High-Density Lipoprotein Benefit From Exercise and for the Health ABC Study.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2024Article
- Sex and gender differences in cognitive resilience to aging and Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Review
- Article
- The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors on Alzheimer's Disease and Brain Health Markers: A UK Biobank Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2024Review
- Ageing, Cognitive Decline, and Effects of Physical Exercise: Complexities, and Considerations from Animal Models.Brain plasticity (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2024Review
- Entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuit connectivity in health and disease.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPhysical activity (PA) is a promising strategy for the promotion of brain health, although substantial variation exists in the effects of PA at the individual level. Given the greater prevalence and faster progression of Alzheimer's disease in women compared to men, and known sex differences in brain architecture, analysis of sex differences in the relationship between PA, cognition, and brain region volumes is warranted.
methodsTo address this, we conducted secondary analyses of data from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study. To determine whether longitudinal changes in PA over 10 years predicted declines in global cognitive functioning and executive functions and processing speed differently in males and females, latent growth curve modeling was utilized. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at year 10, and the hippocampus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were identified as regions of interest.
resultsMaintaining PA over 10 years predicted less declines in executive functions and processing speed in females but not males. Maintaining PA over 10 years was significantly associated with greater volume of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in executive functions, in year 10 in females only. Maintaining physical activity was associated with better global cognitive function in both males and females, and also predicted volume of the left hippocampus, albeit in different directions with females showing a negative relationship and males showing a positive relationship.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that the relationship of PA with cognition and its neurobiological correlates differ by sex, with females apparently benefiting from PA to a greater extent than males. Development of personalized, tailored exercise recommendations to promote healthy brain aging should account for sex differences.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.