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Leisure time physical activity and dementia risk: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies
Xu W, Wang HF, Wan Y, Tan CC, Yu JT, Yu JT, Tan L.. BMJ open, 2017-10-22
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background There is considerable evidence of the favourable role of more physical activity (PA) in fighting against dementia. However, the shape of the dose-response relationship is still unclear. Objective To quantitatively investigate the relationship between dementia and PA. Design PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid and the Cochrane Library were searched for prospective studies published from 1 January 1995 to 15 October 2016. Two types of meta-analyses were performed with a focus on the dose-response relationship using two stage generalised least squares regression. Results The primary analysis exhibited a dose-response trend for all-cause dementia (ACD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) but not for vascular dementia (VD). In the dose-response analysis, either ACD (p trend non-linearity =0.87) or AD (p trend non-linearity =0.10) exhibited a linear relationship with leisure time PA (LTPA) over the observed range (0-2000 kcal/week or 0-45 metabolic equivalent of task hours per week (MET-h/week)). Specifically, for every 500 kcal or 10 MET-h increase per week, there was, on average, 10% and 13% decrease in the risk of ACD and AD, respectively. Conclusions We have reported, for the first time, the dose-response relationship between LTPA and dementia, further supporting the international PA guideline from the standpoint of dementia prevention.
Key findings
- Results The primary analysis exhibited a dose-response trend for all-cause dementia (ACD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) but not for vascular dementia (VD).
Why it matters
Pooling prospective studies published 1995–2016, this meta-analysis found that more leisure-time physical activity went along with a steadily lower risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but not vascular dementia. Within the range studied (up to about 2000 kcal or 45 MET-hours a week), each extra 500 kcal or 10 MET-hours per week was linked to an average 10% lower risk of all-cause dementia and 13% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. Because the studies were observational, this shows an association rather than proof that exercise prevents dementia, though the authors say it supports existing physical activity guidelines.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMJ open) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | BMJ Open: journal h-index 240 (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 | 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) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 165 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.0 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 49 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Lan Tan: h-index 102 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Qingdao University: institution h-index 430 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29061599) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Xu, W., Wang, H. F., Wan, Y., Tan, C. C., Yu, J. T., & Tan, L. (2017). Leisure time physical activity and dementia risk: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014706
Vancouver
Xu W, Wang HF, Wan Y, Tan CC, Yu JT, Tan L. Leisure time physical activity and dementia risk: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ open. 2017. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014706. PMID: 29061599.
BibTeX
@article{xu2017-29061599,
author = {Xu, W. and Wang, H. F. and Wan, Y. and Tan, C. C. and Yu, J. T. and Tan, L.},
title = {{Leisure time physical activity and dementia risk: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies}},
journal = {BMJ open},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014706},
pmid = {29061599},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014706}
}
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