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44/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 44 out of 100. Long-term cohort studies

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

The heart rate response/recovery (HRR) index, a common indicator for cardiovascular health during exercise, has been linked with neurocognitive disorders and mortality. However, the relationship between HRR index and dementia remains unknown. Electrocardiogram data from 46,348 middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank were analyzed following a standardized submaximal exercise stress test (15-second baseline, 6-minute exercise, and 1-minute recovery). The HRR index was calculated as the product of heart rate responses ratio during exercise (peak/resting heart rate) and recovery ratio (peak/recovery heart rate). We found that 519 participants were ascertained with dementia, including 232 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 85 with vascular dementia (VaD) during a median follow-up period of 12.62 years. Higher HRR index and recovery ratio were significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause dementia (HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54-0.94, P = 0.017; HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57-0.99, P = 0.018), but not with incident AD or VaD, respectively. In addition, higher HRR index was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in processing speed, reasoning, and memory (β:2.39, 95% CI: 0.28-4.49, P = 0.027; β: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.26-4.00, P = 0.027; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02-0.05, P < 0.001), while the recovery ratio was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in reasoning and memory (β: 1.91, 95% CI: 0.04-3.79, P = 0.045; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01-0.04, P < 0.001). Higher HRR index and recovery ratios are associated with a decreased risk of incident dementia and appear to have beneficial effects on delaying cognitive decline. The possible mechanisms for this may involve autonomic function and neurovascular health.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Wei, Y., Shan, Y., Fan, W., Huang, X., Ding, J., Mao, M., et al. (2025). Heart rate response and recovery during exercise and dementia risk: a prospective UK biobank study. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22299-2

Vancouver

Wei Y, Shan Y, Fan W, Huang X, Ding J, Mao M, et al. Heart rate response and recovery during exercise and dementia risk: a prospective UK biobank study. Scientific Reports. 2025. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-22299-2. PMID: 41184419.

BibTeX

@article{wei2025-41184419,
  author  = {Wei, Yiran and Shan, Yonglin and Fan, Wenxiao and Huang, Xin and Ding, Jiahao and Mao, Ming and Liu, Qianying and Tian, Minle and others},
  title   = {{Heart rate response and recovery during exercise and dementia risk: a prospective UK biobank study}},
  journal = {Scientific Reports},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1038/s41598-025-22299-2},
  pmid    = {41184419},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-22299-2}
}

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Key findings

We found that 519 participants were ascertained with dementia, including 232 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 85 with vascular dementia (VaD) during a median follow-up period of 12.62 years.
Higher HRR index and recovery ratio were significantly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause dementia (HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54-0.94, P = 0.017; HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57-0.99, P = 0.018), but not with incident AD or VaD, respectively.
In addition, higher HRR index was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in processing speed, reasoning, and memory (β:2.39, 95% CI: 0.28-4.49, P = 0.027; β: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.26-4.00, P = 0.027; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02-0.05, P < 0.001), while the recovery ratio was significantly correlated with slower cognitive decline in reasoning and memory (β: 1.91, 95% CI: 0.04-3.79, P = 0.045; β: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01-0.04, P < 0.001).
Higher HRR index and recovery ratios are associated with a decreased risk of incident dementia and appear to have beneficial effects on delaying cognitive decline.

Why it matters

This study found that a higher heart rate response/recovery index and recovery ratio were associated with reduced risk of all-cause dementia but not with Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, and were correlated with slower cognitive decline in some domains. It suggests that cardiovascular fitness during exercise may be linked to dementia risk, but it does not show that improving fitness prevents dementia.

Study details

Participants519
Effect sizeHR: 0.72; HR: 0.75
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 44/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Scientific Reports)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Scientific Reports: journal h-index 463 (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	4 / 5	2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	519 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)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	1 / 7	Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	0 / 5	0.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
Impact for its field and year	1 / 6	Cited 0.6× 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 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Yongxiang Wang: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Karolinska Institutet: institution h-index 1,477 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41184419)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	44 / 100	—

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