SynthesisBMC health services research2023
Impact of physical activity on healthcare costs: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Digital Health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Semiquantitative Analysis.International journal of public health · 2024Pooled it
- Treatment trajectories among patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Norway - a register-based cohort study over 2 years.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Exercise modality and subsequent musculoskeletal medical expenditures among middle-aged and older adults: A population-based longitudinal study.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Article
- Joint associations of diet quality and physical activity with healthcare utilization among adults in South Korea: a cross-sectional study, 2014-2021.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Article
- Quality of Life and Psychosocial Impact of Sport on People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Value of First-Person Discourse.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Non-linear association between mHealth-measured daily steps and subsequent healthcare expenditures among long-term app users in Osaka, Japan.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- The Influence of Health, Marriage and Cohabitation on Physical Inactivity: Evidence from SHARE for 12 European Countries.Research square · 2026Article
- Sitting still while the world gets sicker: Rethinking physical inactivity as a public health emergency.BMC global and public health · 2026Review
- Exercise reverses the sedentary cardiac phenotype in obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of hemodynamic, structural, and functional adaptations.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Association between Participation in a Municipality-led Walking Program and Readiness for Lifestyle Improvement among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Retrospective Comparative Study Using Linked Administrative Data.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2026Article
- The study protocol of the ePro-Schools project: an eHealth program for promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition in schools.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Estimating the hospitalisation burden of obesity in Europe: evidence from the European health interview survey (EHIS) wave 3.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Development and Validation of a Perception, Attitude, and Practice of Physical Activity to Support Personalized Physical Activity Promotion Among U.S. Older Adults.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effect of Physical Activity on Drug Expenditures for the Physical and Mental Health of Primary Care Users.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Physical activity, deductibles and individual health expenditures.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2026Article
- The social significance of golf in Finland in the year 2021 based on SROI analysis.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- A systematic umbrella review on the impact of elite sport on participation in physical activity and sport.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Cardiovascular Prevention: Current Gaps and Future Directions.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Determinants of physical activity levels and quality of life among older adults in Ghana: insights from cardiometabolic risk (CarMeR) study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Effects of Physical Activity on Medical Expenses among Individuals with Obesity in Korea: Insights from a Nationwide Study.Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis systematic review aims to describe the relation between physical inactivity and healthcare costs, by taking into account healthcare costs of physical-inactivity-related diseases (common practice), including physical-activity-related injuries (new) and costs in life-years gained due to avoiding diseases (new), whenever available. Moreover, the association between physical inactivity and healthcare costs may both be negatively and positively impacted by increased physical activity.
methodsA systematic review was conducted, including records reporting on physical (in)activity in relation to healthcare costs for a general population. Studies were required to report sufficient information to calculate the percentage of total healthcare costs potentially attributable to physical inactivity.
resultsOf the 264 records identified, 25 were included in this review. Included studies showed substantial variation in the assessment methods of physical activity and in type of costs included. Overall, studies showed that physical inactivity is related to higher healthcare costs. Only one study included costs of healthcare resources used in prolonged life when physical-inactivity-related diseases were averted, showing net higher healthcare costs. No study included healthcare costs for physical-activity-related injuries.
conclusionsPhysical inactivity is associated with higher healthcare costs in the general population in the short-term. However, in the long-term aversion of diseases related with physical inactivity may increase longevity and, as a consequence, healthcare costs in life-years gained. Future studies should use a broad definition of costs, including costs in life-years gained and costs related to physical-activity-related injuries.
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.