Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32904178›Full record

ArticleJournal of exercise science and fitness2021

Physical activity and liver health among urban and rural Chinese adults: results from two independent surveys.

Yan Chen, Ying Chen, Baohua Geng, Yong Zhang, Rui Qin, Yamei Cai, Feng Bai, Dahai Yu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of exercise science and fitness, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 23% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Role of Exercise in Steatotic Liver Diseases: An Updated Perspective.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2025
    Review
  3. Altered central pain processing in patients with degenerative lumbar diseases and its association with low physical activity levels after lumbar spinal surgeries: a retrospective cohort analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024
    Article
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. Association between physical activity and serum liver aminotransferases in Southwestern Iran: A Cross-sectional study.Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2022
    Article
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Yan ChenDepartment of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and the Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, No.62 Huaihai Road, Huai'an, 223002, China.
Ying ChenDepartment of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215213, China.
Baohua GengDepartment of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and the Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, No.62 Huaihai Road, Huai'an, 223002, China.
Yong ZhangDepartment of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and the Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, No.62 Huaihai Road, Huai'an, 223002, China.
Rui QinJiangsu Province Hospital on Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China.
Yamei CaiJiangsu Province Hospital on Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing, 210028, China.
Feng BaiDepartment of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and the Second People's Hospital of Huai'an, No.62 Huaihai Road, Huai'an, 223002, China.
Dahai YuPrimary Care Centre Versus Arthritis, Research Institute for Primary Care & Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG, UK.
Xuzhou Medical College · CNJiangsu Province Hospital · CNArthritis UK · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIncreased physical activity has been associated with reduced risks of various physical and mental conditions. However, the association between physical activity and liver health in the Chinese general adult population is not clear. This study investigated whether physical activity, stratified by intensity (i.e. walking (light), moderate-to-vigorous), was associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

methodsTwo independent surveys of urban (n = 5,824, males 44%, mean (standard deviation) age 52 (10) years) and rural populations (n = 20,269, males 41%, mean (standard deviation) age 51 (10) years) were undertaken. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and in metabolic equivalents of task (MET) × minutes. Elevated serum level of ALT, a clinical surrogate of abnormal liver function, was defined as >40 IU/L (males) and >30 IU/L (females). Multivariable regression models were used.

resultsAmount of moderate-to-vigorous activity was inversely associated with serum level of ALT (β = -0.147 per 1k MET-minutes, p < 0.001), whereas walking was not associated. People who reached the lower limit of WHO recommendation (≥600 MET-minutes per week) had a reduced odds of ALT elevation, compared to those who did not (adjusted odds ratio: 0.85 95%CI (0.76, 0.95)).

conclusionsMeeting the moderate-to-vigorous recommendations for physical activity in adults may be associated with decreased likelihood of abnormal liver function both in Chinese urban and rural populations. Promoting such activities could be a low-cost strategy in maintaining liver health as well as providing many other health-related benefits.

Indexed as

Alanine aminotransferaseBiomarkerHepatic enzymeModerate to vigorous activityPhysical activity

Identifiers

PMID32904178
PMCPMC7452301
OpenAlexW3045688043

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.