ReviewAging2020
Physical activity, a modulator of aging through effects on telomere biology.
Review in Aging, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- The relationship between physical activity and telomere length in women: A systematic review.Mechanisms of ageing and development · 2025Pooled it
- Physical Activity on Telomere Length as a Biomarker for Aging: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring the role of β2-microglobulin in the relationship between physical activity and DNAm-predicted PhenoAge: Evidence from a population-based and mice single-cell RNA-sequencing study.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Reframing Telomere Biology in Exercise Science: From Descriptive Metrics to Redox-Metabolic Mechanisms for Precision Healthy Aging (2000-2025).Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Extracurricular physical activity and telomere length in childhood: findings from the INMA study.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Glycine and N-acetylcysteine supplementation, with or without exercise, in brain health and functional aging: implications for sarcopenia and frailty in older adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Exercise attenuates the hallmarks of aging: Novel perspectives.Journal of sport and health science · 2025Review
- Exosomes from Adipose Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells, a Preliminary Study for In Vitro and In Vivo Application.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Causality between aging and interstitial lung disease: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.The Journal of international medical research · 2025Article
- Maternal Lifestyle During Pregnancy and Its Influence on Offspring's Telomere Length.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Relationship between physical activity and DNA methylation-predicted epigenetic clocks.npj aging · 2025Article
- The role of different physical exercises as an anti-aging factor in different stem cells.Biogerontology · 2025Review
- Dose response of leisure time physical activity and biological aging in type 2 diabetes: a cross sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- An Aging-Related lncRNA Signature Establishing for Breast Cancer Prognosis and Immunotherapy Responsiveness Prediction.Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine · 2024Article
- Molecular regulators of exercise-mediated insulin sensitivity in non-obese individuals.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Review
- Telomere length as a predictive biomarker in osteoporosis (Review).Biomedical reports · 2023Review
- Reliable Hallmarks and Biomarkers of Senescent Lymphocytes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Article
- Genetic and clinical determinants of telomere length.HGG advances · 2023Article
- Turning Back the Clock: A Retrospective Single-Blind Study on Brain Age Change in Response to Nutraceuticals Supplementation vs. Lifestyle Modifications.Brain sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Aging is a complex process that is not well understood but involves finite changes at the genetic and epigenetic level. Physical activity is a well-documented modulator of the physiological process of aging. It has been suggested that the beneficial health effects of regular exercise are at least partly mediated through its effects on telomeres and associated regulatory pathways. Telomeres, the region of repetitive nucleotide sequences functioning as a "cap" at the chromosomal ends, play an important role to protect genomic DNA from degradation. Telomeres of dividing cells progressively shorten with age. Leucocyte telomere length (TL) has been associated with age-related diseases. Epidemiologic evidence indicates a strong relationship between physical activity and TL. In addition, TL has also been shown to predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Experimental studies support a functional link between aerobic exercise and telomere preservation through activation of telomerase, an enzyme that adds nucleotides to the telomeric ends. However, unresolved questions regarding exercise modalities, pathomechanistic aspects and analytical issues limit the interpretability of available data. This review provides an overview about the current knowledge in the area of telomere biology, aging and physical activity. Finally, the capabilities and limitations of available analytical methods are addressed.
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.