This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

74/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 74 out of 100. Prevention trials

Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment

Objectives Investigations of exercise and cognition have primarily focused on healthy or demented older adults, and results have been equivocal in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Our aim was to evaluate efficacy of exercise on cognition in older adults with MCI. Design We conducted a meta-analysis of random controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise effects on cognitive outcomes in adults with MCI. Searches were conducted in Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro, SPORTSDICUS, PsychInfo, and PubMed. Participants Adults aged over 65 years with MCI or Mini-Mental State Exam mean score 24-28 inclusive. Measurements Study quality was assessed using the PEDro scale; data on participant and intervention characteristics and outcomes were extracted, followed by meta-analysis. Results Fourteen RCTs (1,695 participants; age 65-95 years) met inclusion criteria. Quality was modest and under-powering for small effects prevalent. Overall, 42% of effect sizes (ESs) were potentially clinically relevant (ES >0.20) with only 8% of cognitive outcomes statistically significant. Meta-analysis revealed negligible but significant effects of exercise on verbal fluency (ES: 0.17 [0.04, 0.30]). No significant benefit was found for additional executive measures, memory, or information processing. Overall results were inconsistent with benefits varying across exercise types and cognitive domains. Conclusions There is very limited evidence that exercise improves cognitive function in individuals with MCI, although published research is of moderate quality and inconclusive due to low statistical power. Questions remain regarding the magnitude, generalization, persistence, and mechanisms of benefits. Large-scale, high-quality RCTs are required to determine if exercise improves cognition or reduces dementia incidence in those with MCI.

Key findings

Objectives Investigations of exercise and cognition have primarily focused on healthy or demented older adults, and results have been equivocal in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Results Fourteen RCTs (1,695 participants; age 65-95 years) met inclusion criteria.
Overall, 42% of effect sizes (ESs) were potentially clinically relevant (ES >0.20) with only 8% of cognitive outcomes statistically significant.
Meta-analysis revealed negligible but significant effects of exercise on verbal fluency (ES: 0.17 [0.04, 0.30]).
No significant benefit was found for additional executive measures, memory, or information processing.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →

Study details

Study designmeta-analysis
Participants1,695
Evidence strengthHigh

How this study scored 74/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 43 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 74 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry)
Journal's citation record	— / 4	No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score
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	1 / 5	2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	3 / 4	1,695 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	— / 7	No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score
Citations per year	— / 5	No citation count or no year — left out of this score
Impact for its field and year	— / 6	No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score
Cited by studies here	— / 6	Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score
Still being cited	— / 4	No yearly citation counts — left out of this score
Senior author's track record	— / 4	Senior author's record not available — left out of this score
Institution's track record	— / 3	No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score
Multi-centre collaboration	— / 3	Institutions not listed — left out of this score
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23831175)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Points	43 / 58	Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 43 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 74 out of 100.
Total	74 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.

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

Gates, N., Fiatarone Singh, M. A., Sachdev, P. S., & Valenzuela, M. (2013). The effect of exercise training on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.018

Vancouver

Gates N, Fiatarone Singh MA, Sachdev PS, Valenzuela M. The effect of exercise training on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.018. PMID: 23831175.

BibTeX

@article{gates2013-23831175,
  author  = {Gates, N. and Fiatarone Singh, M. A. and Sachdev, P. S. and Valenzuela, M.},
  title   = {{The effect of exercise training on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials}},
  journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
  year    = {2013},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.018},
  pmid    = {23831175},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.02.018}
}

Related studies in Prevention trials

Also tagged “exercise-training”

125 studies in the library carry the topic tag “exercise-training”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 125 tagged studies.

Similar studies

More on Prevention trials

See all studies in Prevention trials →