Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41639864›Full record

ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2026

Association between aerobic exercise and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentration in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Amir Hossein Zanganeh, Reza Ghorbani Khosroshahi, Reza Amiri Khosroshahi, Nazanin Zamanian, Saghar Bayat, Pardis Darabi, Nima Ahani, Ali Asadolah, Rahman Soori

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Amir Hossein ZanganehDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Reza Ghorbani KhosroshahiDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Reza Amiri KhosroshahiStudent Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Nazanin ZamanianDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Saghar BayatDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Pardis DarabiDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Nima AhaniDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Ali AsadolahDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Rahman SooriDepartment of exercise physiology, faculty ofsport sciences and health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. rahmansooriii@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effect of aerobic exercise on circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in adults, given the inconsistent results in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which is the basis for our investigation.

methodsA comprehensive search of ISI Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Scopus was conducted up to May 2025. Thirteen RCTs satisfied eligibility criteria. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall Standrad mean difference (SMD) in VEGF between aerobic exercise group and control group. We conducted subgroup analyses dated on exercise intensity, duration, and biological sample (serum versus plasma).

resultsThe results of the pooled analysis demonstrated no significant overall effect of aerobic exercise on circulating VEGF levels ) SMD: - 0.075; 95% CI: - 0.246 to 0.096; p = 0.390; I

conclusionsIt appears that aerobic exercise does not have significant overall influence on circulating VEGF levels. However, VEGF reductions may subsequently occur after short-duration interventions. Further research is needed with larger high-quality RCTs to verify these associations and further explore the mechanisms.

Indexed as

AngiogenesisCirculating biomarkersEndothelial functionExercise intensityExercise trainingPlasma VEGFRandomized trials

Identifiers

PMID41639864
PMCPMC12964954

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.