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Physical Activity as a Moderator of Alzheimer Pathology: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies
Frederiksen KS, Gjerum L, Waldemar G, Hasselbalch SG.. Current Alzheimer research, 2019-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Observational studies have found that physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Whether physical activity may also reduce the level of AD pathology, remains undetermined. Objective To examine the relationship between physical activity and AD biomarkers (beta-amyloid1- 42, total tau and phosphorylated tau in CSF, amyloid PET, hippocampal atrophy on MRI and parietotemporal hypometabolism on brain 18F-FDG-PET). Methods We carried out a systematic review of the observational studies of physical activity and AD biomarkers in healthy subjects, subjective cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD dementia. Results We identified a total of 40 papers, which were eligible for inclusion. Thirty-four studies were conducted on healthy subjects, 3 on MCI and healthy subjects, 1 on MCI, and 2 on AD and healthy controls. Six studies reported on CSF biomarkers, 9 on amyloid PET, 29 on MRI and 4 on brain 18FFDG- PET. The majority of studies did not find a significant association between physical activity and AD biomarkers. Conclusion The quality of included studies with only a few longitudinal studies, limits the conclusions which may be drawn from the present findings especially regarding the biomarkers other than hippocampal volume. However, the majority of the identified studies did not find a significant association.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Frederiksen, K. S., Gjerum, L., Waldemar, G., & Hasselbalch, S. G. (2019). Physical Activity as a Moderator of Alzheimer Pathology: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. Current Alzheimer research. https://doi.org/10.2174/1567205016666190315095151
Vancouver
Frederiksen KS, Gjerum L, Waldemar G, Hasselbalch SG. Physical Activity as a Moderator of Alzheimer Pathology: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. Current Alzheimer research. 2019. doi:10.2174/1567205016666190315095151. PMID: 30873924.
BibTeX
@article{frederiksen2019-30873924,
author = {Frederiksen, K. S. and Gjerum, L. and Waldemar, G. and Hasselbalch, S. G.},
title = {{Physical Activity as a Moderator of Alzheimer Pathology: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies}},
journal = {Current Alzheimer research},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.2174/1567205016666190315095151},
pmid = {30873924},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2174/1567205016666190315095151}
}
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Key findings
- Introduction Observational studies have found that physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
- Results We identified a total of 40 papers, which were eligible for inclusion.
- The majority of studies did not find a significant association between physical activity and AD biomarkers.
- However, the majority of the identified studies did not find a significant association.
Why it matters
This systematic review of 40 observational studies found that the majority did not show a significant association between physical activity and Alzheimer disease biomarkers. The authors note that few longitudinal studies limit the conclusions, so this does not establish that physical activity changes Alzheimer pathology.
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Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Participants40
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Current Alzheimer research) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Current Alzheimer Research: journal h-index 119 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| 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 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 40 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 40 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 4.4 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 11 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Steen Gregers Hasselbalch: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Copenhagen: institution h-index 1,378 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30873924) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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