SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2022
Effectiveness of Fixed-Dose Combination Therapy (Polypill) Versus Exercise to Improve the Blood-Lipid Profile: A Network Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercise versus Resistance Training on Cardiometabolic Health in Patients with Diabesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise type and settings, quality of life, and mental health in coronary artery disease: a network meta-analysis.European heart journal · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Modeling the Exposome in Murine Cardiovascular Disease.JACC. Basic to translational science · 2026Review
- An International Physical Exercise Screening Questionnaire (IPESQ).International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Review
- Exercise benefits in metabolism on cardiovascular disease.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Cardiovascular Disease Meets Cancer: Exploring the Epidemiology in China and Homotherapy Targeting Intersectional Mechanisms.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Physical activity dose-response and long-term effects on dyslipidemia in Chinese adults: a CHARLS study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Association Between Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Cardiovascular Disease in Elderly Chinese Adults: Findings From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- An empirical study on 209 networks of treatments revealed intransitivity to be common and multiple statistical tests suboptimal to assess transitivity.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Comparative efficacy of various hypoxic training paradigms on maximal oxygen consumption: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2023Review
- Lifestyle and Health-Related Quality of Life Relationships Concerning Metabolic Disease Phenotypes on the Nutrimdea Online Cohort.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBoth exercise and polypills are recommended treatments to improve the blood-lipid profile.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to compare head-to-head the effectiveness of polypill and exercise strategies in improving the blood-lipid profile in high-risk cardiovascular patients.
methodsWe performed an electronic search in Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus, from inception to August 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing the effectiveness of exercise interventions or treatment with fixed-dose combination therapy (polypill) in improving the blood-lipid profile in adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or presenting at least one well recognized cardiovascular risk factor were included.
resultsA total of 131 RCTs were included: 15 and 116 studies analyzing the effects of polypills and exercise, respectively, on blood-lipid levels. Both exercise and polypill strategies were effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and total cholesterol (TC), but only exercise interventions improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and triglyceride levels compared with the control group. The results of the network meta-analyses showed that the polypill without antiplatelet therapy was the most effective pharmacological treatment for improving the lipid profile, while aerobic interval exercise was the most effective exercise intervention.
conclusionsConsidering that both polypills and exercise are effective in reducing LDL-c and TC but only exercise improves HDL-c and triglycerides, and that exercise provides further health benefits (e.g., increases in physical fitness and decreases in adiposity), it seems reasonable to recommend exercise as the first treatment option in dyslipidemia when the patient's general condition and symptoms allow it. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019122794.
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.