Relationship between Exercise and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Literature Review
Open accessAbstract
This narrative review aimed to summarize evidence regarding the responses to exercise among patients with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the effectiveness of long-term exercise interventions in improving cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We performed a narrative review of existing literature on the effectiveness of long-term exercise interventions in improving cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with AD. Patients with AD who presented with long-term exercise interventions appeared to have improved blood flow, increased hippocampal volume, and improved neurogenesis. Most prospective studies have proven that physical inactivity is one of the most common preventable risk factors for developing AD and that higher physical activity levels are associated with a reduced risk of AD development. Physical exercise seems to be effective in improving several neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD, notably cognitive function. Compared with medications, exercise has been shown to have fewer side effects and better adherence.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Physical exercises improve cognition and quality of life, and home-based exercises improve balance and fear of falling and executive functions.
“Physical exercises are reported to improve cognition and quality of life, and home-based exercises seemed to improve balance and fear of falling and executive functions [190,191,192].”
From Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: Beyond Symptomatic Therapies (2023) · cites this paper as [190]
The “Physical Activity and Alzheimer’s Disease” section (page unavailable) reports improvements in cognitive outcomes, including executive function, with exercise. The copy does not report that exercise improves quality of life or that home-based exercise improves balance, fear of falling, or executive function; searches for those terms found no such passage. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Sperling, R. A., Aisen, P. S., Beckett, L. A., Bennett, D. A., Craft, S., Fagan, A. M., Iwatsubo, T., Jack, C. R., Kaye, J., Montine, T. J., et al. (2011) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2011.03.003 · Cited by 7,155 · see citing works
2016 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
Alzheimer's Association (2016) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2016.03.001 · Cited by 5,069 · see citing works
Hypothetical model of dynamic biomarkers of the Alzheimer's pathological cascade
Jack, C. R., Knopman, D. S., Jagust, W. J., Shaw, L. M., Aisen, P. S., Weiner, M. W., Petersen, R. C., & Trojanowski, J. Q. (2010) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(09)70299-6 · Cited by 4,806 · see citing works
Gauthier, S. G., Reisberg, ., Zaudig, M., Petersen, R. C., Ritchie, K. A., Broich, K., Belleville, S., Brodaty, H., Bennett, D. A., Chertkow, H. M., et al. (2006) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(06)68542-5 · Cited by 3,920 · see citing works
2013 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures
Thies, W. H., & Bleiler, L. (2013) · Alzheimer s & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2013.02.003 · Cited by 3,331 · see citing works
Scheltens, P., Blennow, K., Breteler, M. M. B., de Strooper, B., Frisoni, G. B., Salloway, S., & Van der Flier, W. M. (2016) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)01124-1 · Cited by 3,125 · see citing works
Physical Activity and Public Health in Older Adults
Nelson, M. E., Rejeski, W. J., Blair, S. N., Duncan, P. W., Judge, J. O., King, A. C., Macera, C. A., & Castaneda‐Sceppa, C. (2007) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.107.185650 · Cited by 2,991 · see citing works
The projected effect of risk factor reduction on Alzheimer's disease prevalence
Barnes, D. E., & Yaffe, K. S. (2011) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(11)70072-2 · Cited by 2,668 · see citing works
Potential for primary prevention of Alzheimer's disease: an analysis of population-based data
Norton, S., Matthews, F. E., Barnes, D. E., Yaffe, K., & Brayne, C. (2014) · The Lancet Neurology · doi:10.1016/s1474-4422(14)70136-x · Cited by 2,466 · see citing works
NELSON, M. E., REJESKI, W. J., BLAIR, S. N., DUNCAN, P. W., JUDGE, J. O., KING, A. C., MACERA, C. A., & CASTANEDA-SCEPPA, C. (2007) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e3180616aa2 · Cited by 2,089 · see citing works
Smith, P. J., Blumenthal, J. A., Hoffman, B. M., Cooper, H., Strauman, T. A., Welsh-Bohmer, K., Browndyke, J. N., & Sherwood, A. (2010) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181d14633 · Cited by 1,714 · see citing works
Physical activity and risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly persons
Laurin, D., Verreault, R., Lindsay, J., MacPherson, K., & Rockwood, K. (2001) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.58.3.498 · Cited by 1,561 · see citing works
Lindsay, J. (2002) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwf074 · Cited by 1,261 · see citing works
Aerobic fitness is associated with hippocampal volume in elderly humans
Erickson, K. I., Prakash, R. S., Voss, M. W., Chaddock, L., Hu, L., Morris, K. S., White, S. M., Wójcicki, T. R., McAuley, E., & Kramer, A. F. (2009) · Hippocampus · doi:10.1002/hipo.20547 · Cited by 1,007 · see citing works
Physical activity and risk of neurodegenerative disease: a systematic review of prospective evidence
Hamer, M., & Chida, Y. (2009) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291708003681 · Cited by 988 · see citing works
2012 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures Alzheimer's Association ∗
Thies, W. H., & Bleiler, L. (2012) · Alzheimer s & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2012.02.001 · Cited by 984 · see citing works
Nonpharmacological therapies in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review of efficacy
Olazarán, J., Reisberg, B., Clare, L., Cruz, I., Peña-Casanova, J., del Ser, T., Woods, B., Beck, C., Auer, S., Lai, C., et al. (2010) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000316119 · Cited by 937 · cited 1× · see citing works
“) have been used and have varied ineffectiveness (Olazarán et al., 2010; Ballard et al., 2011).”
MethodA Prospective Study of Physical Activity and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Women: Women Who Walk
Yaffe, K., Barnes, D., Nevitt, M., Lui, L.-Y., & Covinsky, K. (2001) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.161.14.1703 · Cited by 921 · see citing works
Mahley, R. W., Weisgraber, K. H., & Huang, Y. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0600549103 · Cited by 912 · see citing works
Burns, A., & Iliffe, S. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b158 · Cited by 859 · see citing works
Al-Atrache, Z., Cader, A., & Appelt, D. M. (2016) · Alzheimer s & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2016.06.894 · Cited by 765 · see citing works
Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults
Buchman, A. S., Boyle, P. A., Yu, L., Shah, R. C., Wilson, R. S., & Bennett, D. A. (2012) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182535d35 · Cited by 730 · see citing works
Exercise programs for people with dementia
Forbes, D. A., Forbes, S. C., Blake, C. M., Thiessen, E., & Forbes, S. C. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006489.pub4 · Cited by 693 · see citing works
Rolland, Y., Pillard, F., Klapouszczak, A., Reynish, E., Thomas, D., Andrieu, S., Rivière, D., & Vellas, B. (2007) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01035.x · Cited by 661 · see citing works
Amyloid Beta and Phosphorylated Tau-Induced Defective Autophagy and Mitophagy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Reddy, P. H., & Oliver, D. M. (2019) · Cells · doi:10.3390/cells8050488 · Cited by 496 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, neurogenesis, cognitive function, exercise, hippocampal volume BACKGROUND Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory loss and multiple cognitive disorders (Reddy and Oliver, 2019).”
BackgroundShorter term aerobic exercise improves brain, cognition, and cardiovascular fitness in aging
Chapman, S. B., Aslan, S., Spence, J. S., DeFina, L. F., Keebler, M. W., Didehbani, N., & Lu, H. (2013) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2013.00075 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Vascular risk factors promote conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease
Li, J., Wang, Y. J., Zhang, M., Xu, Z. Q., Gao, C. Y., Fang, C. Q., Yan, J. C., & Zhou, H. D. (2011) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e318217e7a4 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Hoffmann, K., Sobol, N. A., Frederiksen, K. S., Beyer, N., Vogel, A., Vestergaard, K., Brændgaard, H., Gottrup, H., Lolk, A., Wermuth, L., et al. (2016) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-150817 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Can physical exercise in old age improve memory and hippocampal function?
Duzel, E., van Praag, H., & Sendtner, M. (2016) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awv407 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
P1‐071: Intensity of dementia through latent variable modelling (I‐DeLV) in the AIBL cohort
Burnham, S. C., Graham, P. L., Wilson, B., Ames, D. J., Macaulay, L. S., Martins, R. N., Masters, C. L., Maruff, P. T., Rowe, C. C., Szoeke, C. E. I., et al. (2012) · Alzheimer s & Dementia · doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2012.05.347 · Cited by 292 · see citing works
Exercise, cognitive function, and aging
Barnes, J. N. (2015) · AJP Advances in Physiology Education · doi:10.1152/advan.00101.2014 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Andel, R., Crowe, M. G., Pedersen, N. L., Fratiglioni, L., Johansson, B. E. A., & Gatz, M. (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/63.1.62 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Depression in Alzheimer’s disease: heterogeneity and related issues
Lee, H. B., & Lyketsos, C. G. (2003) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00543-2 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Ströhle, A., Schmidt, D. K., Schultz, F., Fricke, N., Staden, T., Hellweg, R., Priller, J., Rapp, M. A., & Rieckmann, N. (2015) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2015.07.007 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Bailey, D. M., Marley, C. J., Brugniaux, J. V., Hodson, D., New, K. J., Ogoh, S., & Ainslie, P. N. (2013) · Stroke · doi:10.1161/strokeaha.113.002589 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Farina, N., Rusted, J. M., & Tabet, N. (2013) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610213001385 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Incident Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Purnell, C., Gao, S., Callahan, C. M., & Hendrie, H. C. (2009) · Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/wad.0b013e318187541c · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Burzynska, A. Z., Chaddock-Heyman, L., Voss, M. W., Wong, C. N., Gothe, N. P., Olson, E. A., Knecht, A., Lewis, A., Monti, J. M., Cooke, G. E., et al. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107413 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Marks, B., Katz, L., Styner, M. A., & Smith, J. K. (2010) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2009.068114 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Nonpharmacological Treatment of Alzheimer Disease
Ballard, C. G., Khan, Z., Clack, H., & Corbett, A. (2011) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371105601004 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Sattler, C., Erickson, K. I., Toro, P., & Schröder, J. (2011) · Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-2011-110548 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Strober, L. B., & Arnett, P. A. (2008) · The Clinical Neuropsychologist · doi:10.1080/13854040802003299 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Herrmann, N., Tam, D. Y., Balshaw, R. F., et al. (2010) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371005501204 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Glenthøj, L. B., Jepsen, J. R. M., Hjorthøj, C. R., Bak, N. K., Kristensen, T. D., Wenneberg, C., Krakauer, K., Nordentoft, M., & Fagerlund, B. (2016) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.12682 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Sacco, G., Caillaud, C., Ben-Sadoun, G., Robert, P. H., David, R., & Brisswalter, J. (2016) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-150194 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
A brief essay on non-pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Raggi, A., Tasca, D., & Ferri, R. (2017) · Reviews in the Neurosciences · doi:10.1515/revneuro-2017-0002 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
The Association of Aging and Aerobic Fitness With Memory
Bullock, A., Mizzi, A. L., Kovačević, A., & Heisz, J. J. (2018) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2018.00063 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Tabei, K., Satoh, M., Ogawa, J.-I., Tokita, T., Nakaguchi, N., Nakao, K., Kida, H., & Tomimoto, H. (2018) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2018.00087 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Quantitative evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease
Caroli, A., & Frisoni, G. B. (2009) · Expert Review of Medical Devices · doi:10.1586/erd.09.35 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
The Facts on File encyclopedia of word and phrase origins
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.42-0005 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Amyloid Beta and Phosphorylated Tau-Induced Defective Autophagy and Mitophagy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Reddy, P. H., & Oliver, D. M. (2019) · Cells · doi:10.3390/cells8050488 · Cited by 496 · see citing works
The gut microbiome in Alzheimer’s disease: what we know and what remains to be explored
Chandra, S., Sisodia, S. S., & Vassar, R. J. (2023) · Molecular Neurodegeneration · doi:10.1186/s13024-023-00595-7 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: Beyond Symptomatic Therapies
Buccellato, F. R., D’Anca, M., Tartaglia, G. M., Del Fabbro, M., Scarpini, E., & Galimberti, D. (2023) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms241813900 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“Physical exercises are reported to improve cognition and quality of life, and home-based exercises seemed to improve balance and fear of falling and executive functions [190–192].”
BackgroundPhysical Exercise-Induced Myokines in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Lee, B., Shin, M., Park, Y., Won, S.-Y., & Cho, K. S. (2021) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms22115795 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Webber, E. K., Fivaz, M., Stutzmann, G. E., & Griffioen, G. (2023) · Alzheimer's & Dementia · doi:10.1002/alz.13065 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
- Authors
- Meng, Q., Lin, M.-S., & Tzeng, I.-S.
- Affiliations
- Huaqiao University (CN)
- Kuang Tien General Hospital (TW)
- Chinese Culture University (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Tzeng, I-Shiang
- Venue
- Frontiers in Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2020-03-26
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 131-131
- ISSN
- 1662-453X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7113559
- OpenAlex
- W3013239211
- Cited by
- 158
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 4.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Chinese Culture University Repository (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Huaqiao University
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Keywords
- physical activity, Alzheimer's disease, preclinical Alzheimer's disease, cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, hippocampal volume, neurogenesis, cerebral blood flow, physical inactivity, exercise adherence, exercise intervention
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
