SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2025
Effects of Exercise Training on Mitochondrial and Capillary Growth in Human Skeletal Muscle: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 5 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
82 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Ergogenic Potential of Succinic Acid in Exercise Performance and Post-Exercise Recovery: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Low-Intensity Endurance Training on Aerobic Fitness and Risk Factors of Cardiometabolic Health in Working-Age Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Relationship Between Digit Ratio (2D:4D) and Aspects of Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of the impact of exercise training combined with dietary intervention vs. dietary intervention alone in patients with obesity and metabolic syndrome-a systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of sprint interval training with voluntary hypoventilation on aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism in young men.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Trial
- The Effects of Individualized Low- and Moderate-Load Circuit Training on Physical Performance, Hormonal Responses, And Hematological Adaptations in Resistance-Trained Men.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Resistance-based training improves mitochondrial capacity and redox balance in aging adults, independent of polyphenol supplementation.Redox biology · 2026Trial
- Recovery of Linear and Nonlinear Heart Rate Variability Metrics After Short-Term Moderate versus Vigorous Intensity Exercise: A Cross-Sectional Randomized Cross-Over Study.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Concurrent training based on an individual load-velocity ratio assessment as a better alternative to continuous endurance training to improve hypertension.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The Roles of Complementary Structured Exercise and Physical Therapy in The Aging and Older Adult IBD Patient Care Team.Current treatment options in gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Increased oxygen demand during exercise as a stimulus for neuroprotection: A working hypothesis.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Comparative effects of aerobic training modalities with and without blood flow restriction on maximal and peak oxygen uptake in adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Review
- Citius, Maius, Melius: Mitochondria and Endurance Performance.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial Quality Control Links Exercise to Sterile Inflammation in the Cardiovascular System: A Narrative Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The hallmarks of skeletal muscle health.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- Angiogenic Doping: Plausible Yet Difficult to Detect.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Exercise and Brain Health in Postmenopausal Women: A Review of Cognitive Benefits, Mechanisms, and Neurodegeneration Prevention.NeuroSci · 2026Review
- The effectiveness of polarized versus high-intensity training in moderately trained cyclists: a randomized parallel-design study.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSkeletal muscle mitochondria and capillaries are crucial for aerobic fitness, and suppressed levels are associated with chronic and age-related diseases. Currently, evidence-based exercise training recommendations to enhance these characteristics are limited. It is essential to explore how factors, such as fitness level, age, sex, and disease affect mitochondrial and capillary adaptations to different exercise stimuli.
objectivesThe main aim of this study was to compare the effects of low- or moderate intensity continuous endurance training (ET), high-intensity interval or continuous training (HIT), and sprint interval training (SIT) on changes in skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and capillarization. Secondarily, the effects on maximal oxygen consumption (VO
methodsA systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus databases, with no data restrictions, up to 2 February 2022. Exercise training intervention studies of ET, HIT, and SIT were included if they had baseline and follow-up measures of at least one marker of mitochondrial content or capillarization. In total, data from 5973 participants in 353 and 131 research articles were included for the mitochondrial and capillary quantitative synthesis of this review, respectively. Additionally, measures of VO
resultsAfter adjusting for relevant covariates, such as training frequency, number of intervention weeks, and initial fitness level, percentage increases in mitochondrial content in response to exercise training increased to a similar extent with ET (23 ± 5%), HIT (27 ± 5%), and SIT (27 ± 7%) (P > 0.138), and were not influenced by age, sex, menopause, disease, or the amount of muscle mass engaged. Higher training frequencies (6 > 4 > 2 sessions/week) were associated with larger increases in mitochondrial content. Per total hour of exercise, SIT was ~ 2.3 times more efficient in increasing mitochondrial content than HIT and ~ 3.9 times more efficient than ET, while HIT was ~ 1.7 times more efficient than ET. Capillaries per fiber increased similarly with ET (15 ± 3%), HIT (13 ± 4%) and SIT (10 ± 11%) (P = 0.556) after adjustments for number of intervention weeks and initial fitness level. Capillaries per mm
conclusionsThe magnitude of change in mitochondrial content, capillarization, and VO
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.