SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2026
A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-intensity interval training for mental health and executive function in university students.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: University students commonly experience mental health challenges and cognitive burdens associated with academic stress and sedentary lifestyles. High-intensity interval training has been proposed as a time-efficient strategy to improve psychological and cognitive outcomes; however, evidence in university populations remains inconsistent. Methods: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, SportDiscus, and MEDLINE were searched from database inception to December 2024, with an updated search performed in April 2026. Randomized controlled trials investigating HIIT interventions in university students were included. Multilevel random-effects meta-analyses, subgroup analyses, exploratory moderator analyses, and sensitivity analyses were conducted. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria. HIIT was associated with significant reductions in mental ill-health outcomes (SMD = -0.732, 95% CI: -1.236 to -0.229, Discussion: Current evidence suggests that HIIT may reduce some mental ill-health outcomes among university students and may benefit selected executive function domains, but evidence for overall executive function remains inconclusive. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025632509, Identifier CRD42025632509.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.