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69/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 69 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Over a median follow-up of 10·0 years (IQR 5·1-21·3), high physical activity levels were associated with reduced risks of all-cause dementia (n=146 effect sizes; RR 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; I 2 =97·4%), Alzheimer's disease (n=59; 0·79 [0·70-0·90]; I 2 =91·3%), and vascular dementia (n=21; 0·71 [0·58-0·87]; I 2 =77·5%); however, associations varied by domain. Leisure-time (k=20 studies; n=33 effect sizes; RR 0·76 [95% CI 0·65-0·88]; I 2 =96·6%) and household (k=1; 0·85 [0·74-0·98]) physical activity were associated with a reduced risk of all-cause dementia. By contrast, occupational (k=5; 1·20 [1·01-1·42]; I 2 =85·6%) and commuting (k=2; 1·10 [1·03-1·18]; I 2 =0·0%) physical activity were associated with an increased risk.

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APA 7th

Feter, N., Iso-Markku, P., Markarian, T., Luong, D. M., Gunnink, J., Schröder, N., et al. (2026). Domain-specific physical activity levels and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. Public health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00142-8

Vancouver

Feter N, Iso-Markku P, Markarian T, Luong DM, Gunnink J, Schröder N, et al. Domain-specific physical activity levels and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. Public health. 2026. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00142-8. PMID: 42612650.

BibTeX

@article{feter2026-42612650,
  author  = {Feter, Natan and Iso-Markku, Paula and Markarian, Tiladia and Luong, Dylan M and Gunnink, Jack and Schröder, Natália and Caputo, Eduardo Lucia and Feter, Jayne and others},
  title   = {{Domain-specific physical activity levels and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis}},
  journal = {The Lancet. Public health},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00142-8},
  pmid    = {42612650},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00142-8}
}

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Key findings

Over a median follow-up of 10·0 years (IQR 5·1-21·3), high physical activity levels were associated with reduced risks of all-cause dementia (n=146 effect sizes; RR 0·80 [95% CI 0·75-0·86]; I 2 =97·4%), Alzheimer's disease (n=59; 0·79 [0·70-0·90]; I 2 =91·3%), and vascular dementia (n=21; 0·71 [0·58-0·87]; I 2 =77·5%); however, associations varied by domain.
Leisure-time (k=20 studies; n=33 effect sizes; RR 0·76 [95% CI 0·65-0·88]; I 2 =96·6%) and household (k=1; 0·85 [0·74-0·98]) physical activity were associated with a reduced risk of all-cause dementia.
By contrast, occupational (k=5; 1·20 [1·01-1·42]; I 2 =85·6%) and commuting (k=2; 1·10 [1·03-1·18]; I 2 =0·0%) physical activity were associated with an increased risk.

Why it matters

High overall physical activity was linked to lower risks of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia, but the links varied by type of activity. Leisure-time and household activity were linked to lower risk, while occupational and commuting activity were linked to higher risk.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants4,227,297
Effect sizeRR 0.80 (95% CI 0.75-0.86) for all-cause dementia with high vs low physical activity; leisure-time RR 0.76 (0.65-0.88); occupational RR 1.20 (1.01-1.42)
Evidence strengthHigh

Limitations

Observational studies with very high heterogeneity (I2 97%); reverse causation is possible because early dementia reduces activity; 93% of studies from high-income countries; only one study for household activity.

How this study scored 69/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 68 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 69 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet. Public health)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	The Lancet Public Health: journal h-index 155 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
Strength of evidence	5 / 5	Rated “high” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	5 / 5	2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	4,227,297 participants
Effect reported	3 / 3	Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	A review of other studies — randomization is not credited here
Times cited	1 / 7	Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	1.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 4.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	0 / 4	Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author David A. Raichlen: h-index 51 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	University of Southern California: institution h-index 1,521 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	3 / 3	OpenAlex lists 15 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42612650)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	68 / 98	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 68 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 69 out of 100.
Total	69 / 100	—

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Read the original

Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).

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