SynthesisJournal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology2021
Physical Exercise Interventions Targeting Cognitive Functioning and the Cognitive Domains in Nondementia Samples: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses.
Synthesis in Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 4 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Optimal type and dose of exercise for improving executive functions in older adults: a systematic review and Bayesian model-based network meta-analysis of RCTs.BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effects of different exercise modalities on cognitive domains in older adults: a Bayesian network meta-analysis and meta-regression.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Studies of the Effect of Mind Body Exercise on Various Domains of Cognitive Function in Older People With or Without Mild Cognitive Impairment.Journal of evidence-based integrative medicinePooled it
- Physical exercise for prevention of dementia study: a 48-month randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in aging · 2026Trial
- Effect of a 24-week resistance exercise intervention on cognitive function in cognitively normal older adults: The AGUEDA randomized controlled trial.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Comparative effectiveness of multiple interventions for Alzheimer's disease on ABC syndromes and QoL: A Bayesian network meta-analysis.iScience · 2026Article
- Effect of a short-term water-based exercise program on cognitive skills in a Mexican older adult population.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Physical exercise and cognition in older adults, a scientific approach scanty reported in Latin America and Caribbean populations.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Does Multicomponent Physical Exercise Training Work for Dementia? Exploring the Effects on Cognition, Neuropsychiatric Symptoms, and Quality of Life.Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology · 2023Article
- Recent advances on the molecular mechanisms of exercise-induced improvements of cognitive dysfunction.Translational neurodegeneration · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe investigated whether physical exercise interventions improve cognitive functioning in nondementia populations.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review of meta-analyses including only randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two reviewers completed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo, and Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials. Study characteristics, effect size data, and heterogeneity estimates were extracted and presented in tabular form. Methodological quality was assessed by 2 reviewers using the AMSTAR-2 checklist. The validity of results was considered based on AMSTAR-2 scores and study characteristics.
resultsWe included 11 meta-analyses: 6 focused on disease-free older adults and 5 on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) excluding dementia. These meta-analyses summarized 97 unique RCTs. Methodological quality ranged from critically low to high. For overall cognitive functioning, which was the outcome of 6 meta-analyses, 1 showed improvement due to exercise interventions in disease-free older adults (
conclusionsExercise may improve overall cognitive functioning in disease-free older adults, but there is too little high-quality evidence to conclude whether this is achieved through improvement in any of the specific cognitive domains assessed. There is clearer evidence that exercise may improve cognitive functioning in MCI, but again there is limited evidence across most cognitive domains.
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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.