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Alzheimer's Disease and Exercise: A Literature Review
Cass SP.. Current sports medicine reports, 2017-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impairs memory and cognitive judgment. It is the leading cause of dementia in late adult life and is associated with a significant social burden and increased morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Because of mixed effectiveness of medications, exercise has been considered as a treatment for pre-clinical AD, late stage AD, and as a prevention strategy. Exercise appears to improve brain blood flow, increase hippocampal volume, and improve neurogenesis. Prospective studies indicate that physical inactivity is one of the most common preventable risk factors for developing AD and that higher physical activity levels are associated with a reduced risk of development of disease. Exercise as a treatment for AD shows improvement in cognitive function, decreased neuropsychiatric symptoms, and a slower decline in activities of daily living (ADL). Exercise has been shown to have fewer side effects and better adherence compared to medications.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Cass, S. P. (2017). Alzheimer's Disease and Exercise: A Literature Review. Current sports medicine reports. https://doi.org/10.1249/jsr.0000000000000332
Vancouver
Cass SP. Alzheimer's Disease and Exercise: A Literature Review. Current sports medicine reports. 2017. doi:10.1249/jsr.0000000000000332. PMID: 28067736.
BibTeX
@article{cass2017-28067736,
author = {Cass, S. P.},
title = {{Alzheimer's Disease and Exercise: A Literature Review}},
journal = {Current sports medicine reports},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1249/jsr.0000000000000332},
pmid = {28067736},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1249/jsr.0000000000000332}
}
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Key findings
- It is the leading cause of dementia in late adult life and is associated with a significant social burden and increased morbidity and mortality in the elderly.
- Prospective studies indicate that physical inactivity is one of the most common preventable risk factors for developing AD and that higher physical activity levels are associated with a reduced risk of development of disease.
- Exercise has been shown to have fewer side effects and better adherence compared to medications.
Why it matters
This review reports that physical inactivity is a common preventable risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and that exercise is linked to reduced risk and to improved cognition and daily functioning in people with the disease. These findings come largely from prospective studies and do not prove that exercise prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Current sports medicine reports) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Current Sports Medicine Reports: journal h-index 87 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 213 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.4 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 56 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Shane P. Cass: h-index 6 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of New Mexico: institution h-index 845 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28067736) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
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