SynthesisBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2026
The effects of exercise training on cardiometabolic health in adults with spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis 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.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The effect of high-intensity interval training on cardiorespiratory fitness for non-ambulatory stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Trial
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND
aimSpinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with increased cardiometabolic health risks that may be mitigated through exercise training, although this association requires further elucidation. Therefore, the aim of the present meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of exercise training on cardiometabolic health markers in adults with SCI.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted in three primary databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) from inception to January 2025 to identify original studies investigating the effects of exercise training on glycemic markers, lipid profiles, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers in adults with SCI. Standardized mean differences (SMD) or weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined.
resultsTwenty-nine studies, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCT designs, involving 502 participants with SCI, with durations of injury ranging from less than 1 to 22 years, were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, exercise training exhibited significantly larger decreases in fasting glucose [WMD: -0.15 mmol/L], insulin [SMD: -0.50], insulin resistance [SMD: -0.56], total cholesterol [WMD: -0.15 mmol/L], triglycerides [WMD: -0.15 mmol/L], diastolic blood pressure (DBP) [WMD: -2.31 mmHg], interleukin-6 [SMD: -0.75], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [SMD: -0.48], and C-reactive protein [SMD: -0.36], and significantly larger increases in high-density lipoprotein [WMD: 0.03 mmol/L], but did not differentially affect low-density lipoprotein or systolic blood pressure (SBP). Based on subgroup analyses, upper body-aerobic and high intensity interval training, and exercise without electrical stimulation (ES), appeared to be more effective for improving glycemic markers, whereas upper body resistance training and exercise without ES demonstrated greater effectiveness for improving lipid profiles.
conclusionExercise training is effective for reducing glycemic and pro-inflammatory markers, and for improving lipid profiles in adults with SCI. Moreover, exercise training decreased DBP, but not SBP, with uncertainty regarding whether the decreases in DBP are positive in this population. This is an important result, and may represent a potentially important clinical consideration. Further research is needed to determine the long-term clinical effects and whether adverse cardiovascular events are reduced or health outcomes are improved in adults with SCI.
Identifiers
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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.