Table 1.
Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis.
| Reference (year) | Study design | Individual characteristic | Group | Intervention type | Control type | Intervention characteristic | Measuring tool | Outcomes measurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li (2019) | RCT | Community seniors, n = 74 EG age: 66.66 ± 4.89 CG age: 65.97 ± 4.13 |
EG: n = 38 CG: n = 36 |
Five mimic-animal exercises | NM | 40 weeks 1 session/week 60 min/session | ③⑤⑥ | RT |
| Peng and Zhou (2016) | RCT | Female university students, n = 59 EG age: 21.33 ± 1.49 CG age: 21.0 ± 0.78 |
EG: n = 31 CG: n = 28 |
Acute aerobic exercise (Power cycling) | R | 30 min | ③ | RT |
| Yang et al. (2019) | RCT | Women seniors, n = 52 EG-a age: 64.5 ± 3.9 EG-b age: 62.6 ± 4.6 CG age: 63.2 ± 5.3 |
EG-a: n = 16 EG-b: n = 19 CG: n = 17 |
Taijiquan; Square dance | W | 6 months ≥5 sessions/week 75 min/session | ③ | RT |
| Zhang H. (2021) | RCT | University students, n = 56 EG age: 18.53 ± 0.57 CG age: 18.46 ± 0.71 |
EG: n = 30 CG: n = 26 |
Medium-intensity aerobic exercise | NM | 9 weeks 4 sessions/week 60 min/session | ⑦ | RT |
| Lindheimer et al. (2017) | RCT | Healthy adults, n = 60 | EG-a: n = 15 EG-b: n = 15 CG-a: n = 15 CG-b: n = 15 |
Cycling | PC | 30 min/session | ⑧ | RT |
| Nishiguchi et al. (2015) | RCT | Community-dwelling older adults, n = 48 EG age: 73.0 ± 4.8 CG age: 73.5 ± 5.6 |
EG: n = 24 CG: n = 24 |
Dual task–based multimodel exercise; Walking exercise | NM | 12 weeks 90 min/session | ③ | RT |
| Li et al. (2020) | RCT | Female university students, n = 60 EG-a age: 18.44 ± 0.51 EG-b age: 18.43 ± 0.51 CG age: 18.58 ± 0.51 |
EG-a: n = 18 EG-b: n = 21 CG: n = 19 |
Aerobic exercise; Resistance exercise | NM | 8 weeks 3 sessions/week 60 min/session | ③ | RT |
| Wu (2021) | RCT | Children, n = 40 Range age: 4–5 |
EG: n = 20 CG: n = 20 |
Aerobic gymnastics | DR | 8 weeks 2 sessions/week 60 min/session | ⑫ | RT |
| Brown et al. (2009) | RCT | Seniors, n = 154 EG-a age: 79.5 ± 5.9 EG-b age: 81.5 ± 6.9 CG age: 78.1 ± 6.4 |
EG-a: n = 66 EG-b: n = 26 CG: n = 34 |
Flexibility and relaxation; Specific resistance training; Balance (both static and dynamic) training | NM | 6 months 2 sessions/week 60 min/session | ①②④⑨ | Score |
| Elkana et al. (2018) | RCT | Adults, n = 69 EG age: 25.43 (range: 19–34) CG age: 26.39 (range: 22–35) |
EG: n = 35 CG: n = 34 |
Acute physical exercise | NM | 15 min | ⑩ | Score |
| Moreau et al. (2017) | RCT | Children, age: NR | EG: n = 152 CG: n = 153 |
HIIT | NM | 6 weeks | ① | Score |
| Wilke (2020) | RCT | College students with exercise background, n = 35 EG-a age: 26.5 ± 4.4 EG-b age: 26.4 ± 2.6 CG age: 27.3 ± 3.8 |
EG-a: n = 12 EG-b: n = 11 CG: n = 12 |
HIIT; Aerobic walking | R | 15 min | ①②④ | Score |
| Kramer et al. (2002) | RCT | Sedentary older adults, n = 125 EG age: 67.3 ± 5.2 CG age: 66 ± 5.3 |
EG: n = 66 CG: n = 58 |
Aerobic exercise | S | 6 months 3 sessions/week 40 min/session | ①②⑪ | Score |
| Nouchi et al. (2014) | RCT | Seniors, n = 64 EG age: 66.75 ± 7.61 CG age: 67.06 ± 2.82 |
EG: n = 32 CG: n = 32 |
Aerobic; Strength; Stretching | NM | 4 weeks 3 sessions/week | ①② | Score |
| Tottori et al. (2019) | RCT | Children, n = 56 EG age: 10.0 ± 1.0 CG age: 10.4 ± 1.1 |
EG: n = 27 CG: n = 29 |
HIIT | NM | 4 weeks 3 sessions/week 8–10 min/session | ①② | Score |
| Kalbe et al. (2018) | RCT | Seniors, n = 55 EG-a age: 68.22 ± 7.96 EG-b age: 68.75 ± 6.62 CG age: 67.53 ± 5.89 |
EG-a: n = 18 EG-b: n = 20 CG: n = 17 |
Cognitive and physical training | CT | 7 weeks 2 sessions/week 90 min/session | ① | Score |
| Hong et al. (2018) | RCT | Seniors, n = 25 EG age: 76.50 + ±6.36 CG age: 73.50 ± 5.57 |
EG: n = 12 CG: n = 13 |
Resistance exercises | NM | 12 weeks 2 sessions/week 60 min/session | ①② | Score |
| Hariprasad et al. (2013) | RCT | Seniors, n = 120 EG age: 75.74 ± 6.46 CG age: 74.78 ± 7.35 |
EG: n = 62 CG: n = 58 |
Yoga | NM | 6 months 3–4 sessions/week 60 min/session | ①②⑬⑭ | Score |
| Fabre et al. (2002) | RCT | Seniors, n = 24 EG-a age: 65.4 ± 2.2 EG-b age: 64.9 ± 1.4 CG age: 65.7 ± 1.5 |
EG-a: n = 8 EG-b: n = 8 CG: n = 8 |
Aerobic exercise; Mental training | NM | 2 months 2 sessions/week 60 min/session | ② | Score |
| Li (2016) | RCT | Seniors, n = 66 EG-a age: 67.35 ± 4.29 EG-b age: 66.59 ± 4.02 CG age: 65.93 ± 5.13 |
EG-a: n = 22 EG-b: n = 25 CG: n = 19 |
Aerobic walk; Baduanjin | NM | 6 months 3 sessions/week 60 min/session | ⑮ | Score |
| Zhang B. (2021) | RCT | Children, n = 48 EG age: 11.167 ± 0.38 CG age: 11.208 ± 0.41 |
EG: n = 24 CG: n = 24 |
Rhythmic exercise | DR | 18 weeks 3 sessions/week 40 min/session | ⑯ | Score |
NR, not reported; EG-a, Experimental group a; EG-b, Experimental group b; CG-a, Control group a; CG-b, Control group b; RCT, randomized controlled trial; NM, no movement; CT, cognitive training; DR, daily routine; S, stretching; R, reading; PC, passive cycling; W, Walk; ① DSB, Digits Span Backward; ② DSF, Digits Span Forward; ③ N-back; ④ DS, Digits span; ⑤ Stroop; ⑥ ANT, Attention Network Test; ⑦ 2-back; ⑧ Visual N-back Task; ⑨ VISPA, Visual Paired Associates; ⑩ VS-WM, Visuospatial Working Memory; ⑪ SAT, Spatial Attention Task; ⑫ 1-back; ⑬ SSB, Spatial Span Backward; ⑭ SSF, Spatial Span Forward; ⑮ WMS, Wechsler Memory Scale; ⑯ SWMs, Spatial Working Memory score.