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80/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 80 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Importance Physical activity is associated with the risk for cognitive decline, but much of the evidence in this domain comes from studies with short follow-ups, which is prone to reverse causation bias. Results A total of 104 studies with 341 471 participants were assessed. Physical activity was associated with a decreased incidence of cognitive impairment or decline after correction for funnel plot asymmetry (pooled risk ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99), but there was no significant association in follow-ups longer than 10 years. Physical activity was associated with follow-up global cognition (standardized regression coefficient, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.02-0.03) and change in global cognition (standardized regression coefficient, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.02) from trim-and-fill analyses, with no clear dose-response or moderation by follow-up length, baseline age, study quality or adjustment for baseline cognition. The specific cognitive domains associated with physical activity were episodic memory (standardized regression coefficient, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.02-0.04) and verbal fluency (standardized regression coefficient, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.03-0.08). Conclusions and relevance In this meta-analysis of the association of physical activity with cognitive decline, physical activity was associated with better late-life cognition, but the association was weak.

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

APA 7th

Iso-Markku, P., Aaltonen, S., Kujala, U. M., Halme, H. L., Phipps, D., Knittle, K., et al. (2024). Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54285

Vancouver

Iso-Markku P, Aaltonen S, Kujala UM, Halme HL, Phipps D, Knittle K, et al. Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Network Open. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54285. PMID: 38300618.

BibTeX

@article{isomarkku2024-38300618,
  author  = {Iso-Markku, P. and Aaltonen, S. and Kujala, U. M. and Halme, H. L. and Phipps, D. and Knittle, K. and Vuoksimaa, E. and Waller, K.},
  title   = {{Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis}},
  journal = {JAMA Network Open},
  year    = {2024},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54285},
  pmid    = {38300618},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54285}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Importance Physical activity is associated with the risk for cognitive decline, but much of the evidence in this domain comes from studies with short follow-ups, which is prone to reverse causation bias.
Results A total of 104 studies with 341 471 participants were assessed.
Physical activity was associated with a decreased incidence of cognitive impairment or decline after correction for funnel plot asymmetry (pooled risk ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99), but there was no significant association in follow-ups longer than 10 years.
Physical activity was associated with follow-up global cognition (standardized regression coefficient, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.02-0.03) and change in global cognition (standardized regression coefficient, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.02) from trim-and-fill analyses, with no clear dose-response or moderation by follow-up length, baseline age, study quality or adjustment for baseline cognition.
The specific cognitive domains associated with physical activity were episodic memory (standardized regression coefficient, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.02-0.04) and verbal fluency (standardized regression coefficient, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.03-0.08).

Why it matters

This meta-analysis of 104 studies found that physical activity was associated with better late-life cognition, but the association was weak, and there was no significant association in follow-ups longer than 10 years. The findings do not show that physical activity prevents cognitive decline.

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Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants341,471
Effect sizePooled RR 0.97 (95% CI 0.97-0.99) for cognitive impairment/decline; no association beyond 10 years of follow-up
Evidence strengthModerate

Limitations

Observational studies only; self-reported activity; substantial publication bias detected; heterogeneity in cognitive measures.

How this study scored 80/100

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 78 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 80 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA Network Open)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Network Open: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	12 / 12	A meta-analysis pooling many studies
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	4 / 5	2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	4 / 4	341,471 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	A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 221 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	5 / 5	55.2 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024
Impact for its field and year	6 / 6	Cited 60.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 5 other studies in this library
Still being cited	4 / 4	Cited 221 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	1 / 4	Last-listed author Katja Linda Waller: h-index 19 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	University of Helsinki: institution h-index 1,201 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38300618)
Free to read	— / 2	Access not recorded — left out of this score
Points	78 / 98	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 78 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 80 out of 100.
Total	80 / 100	—

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