ReviewPreventive medicine reports2021
Aerobic physical activity to improve memory and executive function in sedentary adults without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Preventive medicine reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the effects of exercise on cognition and physical function: a scoping review of rodent studies.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- An umbrella review of randomized control trials on the effects of physical exercise on cognition.Nature human behaviour · 2023Pooled it
- Physical activity on executive function in sedentary individuals: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Long-Term Effects of a 5-Year Randomized Controlled Exercise Trial on Brain Volumes and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A 4-Year Post-Intervention Follow-Up Study.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Trial
- Associations of Social Support, Loneliness, and Physical Activity with Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Physical Activity, Self-Administered Motor Tests, and Academic Achievement in Lower Secondary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sex differences in cerebrovascular function across an aerobic exercise intervention in older adults using MRI: Results from the Brain in Motion study.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Chronic Aerobic Exercise Alleviates Amyloid-induced Capillary Dysfunction.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of androgen replacement therapy on cognitive function in patients with hypogonadism: A systematic review and meta‑analysis.Biomedical reports · 2025Article
- Associations of Accelerometer-Measured Sedentary Behavior and Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Young Adults.European journal of sport science · 2025Article
- Combinations of light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity in midlife and old age: implications for healthy cognitive aging.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Article
- Diabetes-related cognitive impairment: Mechanisms, symptoms, and treatments.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2025Review
- Healthy Cognitive Aging Through Movement: A Practical Approach of Light-Intensity Aerobic Dance for Older Adults.Advances in neurobiology · 2025Review
- Exploring the Interconnections of Genetic, Lifestyle, and Epigenetic Influences on Brain Aging: A Comprehensive Review.Current Alzheimer research · 2025Review
- Increased frequency of light physical activity during midlife and old age buffers against cognitive declines.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Article
- The Influence of Separate and Combined Exercise and Foreign Language Acquisition on Learning and Cognition.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Food resources and kitchen skills plus aerobic training (FoRKS+) for black adults with hypertension: A pilot trial protocol.Contemporary clinical trials · 2024Article
- 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
- Editorial: Advances in the understanding of the affective and cognitive effects of physical activity, exercise, and sports.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The worldwide population of adults ages 50 and older continues to increase and is projected to reach over 2.3 billion by 2030. Aging is the biggest risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia. Aerobic physical activity may improve cognitive functioning, thus delaying aging-related cognitive decline. The purpose of this review was to examine the effect of aerobic physical activity on memory and executive function in sedentary adults with no known cognitive impairment. PubMed, CINAHL, Psycinfo, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles up to July 2019. Randomized controlled trials of sedentary adults, aged 50 and older, that compared an aerobic physical activity intervention to either no treatment or alternative active comparator and reported outcome measures of memory and/or executive function were included. A random effects meta-analysis was performed to examine the separate effect sizes for memory and executive function. Nine studies met inclusion criteria and contributed either memory and/or executive function effect sizes (n = 547). Results from the random effects meta-analysis suggested, by post-intervention, a large effect size for the aerobic physical activity interventions on memory (g = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.14-1.47; n = 7; p = 0.02) and a small effect on executive function (g = 0.37, 95%CI: 0.04-0.69; n = 6; p = 0.03). Aerobic physical activity may improve memory and executive function in sedentary adults without cognitive impairment. Policymakers and providers should promote aerobic physical activity in this population, and further research should investigate the most effective ways to promote aerobic physical activity in mid-life to older adults.
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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.