SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2020
DNA Damage Following Acute Aerobic Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 50 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of exhaustive and/or strenuous exercise on aging-related molecular and physiological biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Biogerontology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the SIRT1 response to exercise.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- DNA oxidation after exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Pooled it
- Physical Activity on Telomere Length as a Biomarker for Aging: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Exercise and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers among Adult with Cancer: A Systematic Review.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2022Pooled it
- A Standardised Exercise Protocol to Induce Oxidative Stress in Humans: Validation with a Dietary Polyphenol Intervention.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- The Impact of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Supplementation on Redox Balance and Aerobic Capacity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Trial
- The Effect of a Hydroxytyrosol-Rich, Olive-Derived Phytocomplex on Aerobic Exercise and Acute Recovery.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Aerobic exercise induces tumor suppressor p16Aging · 2020Trial
- Non-Contact, Mechanical Fatigue-Related ACL Injury Prevention Through Extracellular Matrix Crosslink Preservation: A Narrative Review.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- Exercise modulates redox homeostasis in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases: from bench to clinic.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2026Review
- European Code Against Cancer, 5th edition - diet, excess body weight, physical activity, sedentary behavior, breastfeeding, and cancer.Molecular oncology · 2026Review
- Exercise attenuates the hallmarks of aging: Novel perspectives.Journal of sport and health science · 2025Review
- Optimal timing to assess exercise-induced oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Experimental physiology · 2025Review
- Therapeutic applications of exercise in neurodegenerative diseases: focusing on the mechanism of SIRT1.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Genome-wide interaction study of physical activity and genetic susceptibility on colorectal cancer using UK biobank data.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Beyond physical exhaustion: Understanding overtraining syndrome through the lens of molecular mechanisms and clinical manifestation.Sports medicine and health science · 2025Review
- High-intensity functional training modulates oxidative stress and improves physical performance in adolescent male soccer players: a randomized controlled trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Effects of exercise intensity and diet on cardiac tissue structure and FGF21/β-Klotho signaling in type 2 diabetic mice: a comparative study of HFD and HFD + STZ induced type 2 diabetes models in mice.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise is widely recognised for its health enhancing benefits. Despite this, an overproduction of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), outstripping antioxidant defence mechanisms, can lead to a state of (chronic) oxidative stress. DNA is a vulnerable target of RONS attack and, if left unrepaired, DNA damage may cause genetic instability.
objectiveThis meta-analysis aimed to systematically investigate and assess the overall effect of studies reporting DNA damage following acute aerobic exercise.
methodsWeb of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus were searched until April 2019. Outcomes included (1) multiple time-points (TPs) of measuring DNA damage post-exercise, (2) two different quantification methods (comet assay and 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine; 8-OHdG), and (3) protocols of high intensity (≥ 75% of maximum rate of oxygen consumption; VO
resultsLiterature search identified 4316 non-duplicate records of which 35 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The evidence was strong, showcasing an increase in DNA damage immediately following acute aerobic exercise with a large-effect size at TP 0 (0 h) (SMD = 0.875; 95% CI 0.5, 1.25; p < 0.05). When comparing between comet assay and 8-OHdG at TP 0, a significant difference was observed only when using the comet assay. Finally, when isolating protocols of long-distance and high-intensity exercise, increased DNA damage was only observed in the latter. (SMD = 0.48; 95% CI - 0.16, 1.03; p = 0.15 and SMD = 1.18; 95% CI 0.71, 1.65; p < 0.05 respectively).
conclusionsA substantial increase in DNA damage occurs immediately following acute aerobic exercise. This increase remains significant between 2 h and 1 day, but not within 5-28 days post-exercise. Such an increase was not observed in protocols of a long-distance. The relationship between exercise and DNA damage may be explained through the hormesis theory, which is somewhat one-dimensional, and thus limited. The hormesis theory describes how exercise modulates any advantageous or harmful effects mediated through RONS, by increasing DNA oxidation between the two end-points of the curve: physical inactivity and overtraining. We propose a more intricate approach to explain this relationship: a multi-dimensional model, to develop a better understanding of the complexity of the relationship between DNA integrity and exercise.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.