Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40165427›Full record

SynthesisAmerican journal of health promotion : AJHP2025

Walking Interventions and Cognitive Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Jongwon Lee, Delia West, Christine Pellegrini, Jingkai Wei, Sara Wilcox, Jean Neils-Strunjas, A Caroline Rudisill, Daniela B Friedman, David X Marquez, Jenna Dzwierzynski and 3 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
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

13 authors.

Jongwon LeeDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.ORCID 0009-0008-4946-3395
Delia WestDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Christine PellegriniDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0922-0195
Jingkai WeiDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8941-8662
Sara WilcoxDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Jean Neils-StrunjasOffice for the Study of Aging, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
A Caroline RudisillDepartment of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Daniela B FriedmanOffice for the Study of Aging, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9359-093X
David X MarquezDepartment of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jenna DzwierzynskiDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Joyce Balls-BerryDepartment of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, St.Louis, MO, USA.
Rachelle GajadharDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA.
Chih-Hsiang YangDepartment of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.

Funding

Research Education ComponentP30AG066444 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Susan Lynn Stark · 2020 to 2026
$28.7M
NCCDPHP CDC HHS U48 DP006401NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066444
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

ObjectiveThis systematic review summarizes the effectiveness and the dose of walking interventions on specific cognition domains in older adults, including executive function, memory, attention, processing speed, and global cognition.Data sourcePublished randomized controlled trials in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science until 10 May 2023.Study Inclusion and Exclusion CriteriaStudies include older adults without Alzheimer's or related dementias, involving a walking intervention and performance-based neuropsychological assessments for executive function, memory, processing speed, attention, or global cognition.Data ExtractionTwo independent research assistants reviewed 8424 studies and included 17 studies.Data SynthesisParticipant demographics, intervention features (type, intensity, time, frequency, duration, format, and context), cognitive assessment tools, and main findings.ResultsNine studies found a favorable effect of walking interventions on at least one cognitive domain. Walking interventions improved executive function (n = 6) and memory (n = 3). These studies delivered the intervention individually (n = 3) for at least 40 minutes (n = 6) each time, three times per week (n = 8), between 6 to 26 weeks (n = 8), and walking at a moderate to vigorous intensity (n = 7).ConclusionWalking interventions may improve specific domains of cognitive function in older adults, particularly executive function and memory. More standardized reporting of intervention design and participant compliance based on published guidelines is needed to determine the dose-response association and the long-term effect of walking interventions on cognition.

Indexed as

CognitionWalkingAgedAged, 80 and overExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansMaleMemoryRandomized Controlled Trials as Topiccommunityfitnessinterventionsmind-body healtholder adults

Identifiers

PMID40165427
PMCPMC12284334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.