Evidence mapPaperPMID 42568043Full record

ArticleAging cell2026

Effects of Physical Activity on Brain White Matter Integrity Are Region-, Dose-, and Age-Dependent: Findings From the Population-Based Rhineland Study.

Eva Saxler, Fabienne A U Fox, Alexandra Koch, Xingwang Yang, Weiyi Zeng, Santiago Estrada, Monique M B Breteler, N Ahmad Aziz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Aging cell, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Eva SaxlerPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8300-3157
Fabienne A U FoxDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Alexandra KochPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9795-0541
Xingwang YangPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4071-7950
Weiyi ZengPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2516-9710
Santiago EstradaPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0339-8870
Monique M B BretelerPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0626-9305
N Ahmad AzizPopulation Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6184-458X

Funding

Alzheimer Forschung Initiative 25081EBundesministerium für Bildung und ForschungChina Scholarship Council CSC202108080131European Research Council 101041677Ministry for Culture and Science Northrhine Westphalia
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

White matter integrity is a sensitive marker of cerebrovascular health and aging. Physical activity may promote white matter health, but previous studies were limited by self-reported activity and small sample sizes. We examined the association between accelerometer-based physical activity and novel indices of white matter integrity while identifying potential mediators. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data from 4188 participants (58% women, mean age: 55.4 years) of the Rhineland Study, a prospective cohort study in Bonn, Germany. Physical activity measures (independent variables) were derived from activPAL3 micro-accelerometers. Fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, free water fraction, orientation dispersion, and neurite density (outcomes) were obtained from 3 T MR images for the whole brain and across 27 white matter tracts. We performed multivariable polynomial regression and mediation analyses for cardiometabolic and inflammatory factors. Higher energy expenditure was related to lower orientation dispersion, with the association leveling off at higher amounts (standardized β

Indexed as

AgingBrainExerciseWhite MatterAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective Studiesbrain healthdiffusion tensor imaginghealthy agingmovementphysical activitywhite matter

Identifiers

PMID42568043
PMCPMC13451344

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.