Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42088685›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026

Perceived health benefits of martial arts and combat sports.

Erika Zormann, Markus Foramitti, Urs Markus Nater

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

3 authors.

Erika ZormannDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Markus ForamittiDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Urs Markus NaterDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: While there are many anecdotal claims and a growing body of literature on the health benefits of martial arts (MA) and combat sports (CS), research on their perception by practitioners is scarce. Methods: This cross-sectional study ( Results: The results of the hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses indicated that training frequency was not associated with perceived health benefits, whereas training age showed a small association. Interestingly, in an explorative step, current self-rated health was associated with additional variance in the perceived health benefits. Small to medium associations were found between mental and physical health. Discussion: It is concluded that health benefits are reported by MA/CS practitioners regardless of training age or frequency, and may therefore be relevant to a larger population. Nevertheless, future studies are needed to further explore these relationships using a longitudinal approach.

Indexed as

combat sportsHRQOLmartial artsmental healthperceived health benefitsphysical health

Identifiers

PMID42088685
PMCPMC13135931

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered 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.