SynthesisMedicine2026
Effects of exercise intervention on inhibitory control in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The influence of chronic exercise intervention on the executive function of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Can AI-driven games enhance social skills for autistic children? - A three-level meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise interventions have a positive impact on executive functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the efficacy of inhibitory control (IC) following exercise interventions is unclear. The aim was to investigate the effects of an exercise intervention on IC function in children and adolescents with ASD and to explore the underlying mechanisms.
methodsWe searched 8 English (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Library, and APA PsycINFO) and 2 Chinese databases (China Biomedical and CNKI) up to November 2024. Two authors independently extracted data, assessed bias with Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, and graded evidence with Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation. Eighteen studies were included, of which 8 entered the meta-analysis.
resultsOverall, the combined effect of exercise intervention on IC in children and adolescents with ASD was statistically significant in the intervention group compared to the control group (standardized mean difference = -0.49, 95% confidence interval [-0.72 to -0.26], Z = 4.16, P < .0001), with no heterogeneity (I2 = 0%), and no publication bias was found by funnel plots and Egger test, sensitivity analysis revealed no publication bias, and the findings were stable. Subgroup analysis revealed that, in terms of movement patterns, martial arts interventions appeared to be more effective in enhancing IC, while ball sports and combined sports did not show significant effects. Interventions with shorter session durations (≤45 minutes), more frequent weekly sessions (>2), and shorter intervention cycles (≤4 weeks) tended to demonstrate slightly better outcomes, although not all subgroup differences reached statistical significance.
conclusionsExercise interventions have a significant impact on IC in children and adolescents with ASD. Martial arts interventions may be more beneficial for improving IC in children and adolescents with ASD. Similarly, shorter sessions, higher weekly frequency, and shorter overall intervention cycles tended to yield somewhat better effects. However, given the variation in the number and quality of included studies, these findings must be further validated by more scientifically objective randomized controlled trials.
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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.