Longkai Li1, Jinming Zhang2, Meng Cao3, Wenwen Hu1, Tang Zhou1, Tao Huang4, Peijie Chen5, Minghui Quan6. 1. School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, China. 2. College of Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, China. 3. School of Physical Education and Sports Training, Shanghai University of Sport, China. 4. Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. 5. School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, China. Electronic address: chenpeijie@sus.edu.cn. 6. School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, China. Electronic address: quanminghui@163.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To use a quantitative approach to examine the effects of chronic physical activity (PA) interventions on executive functions (EFs) in children aged 3-7 years. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched from their inception to December 2019. Intervention studies with a control group that examined the effects of chronic PA interventions on EFs among children aged 3-7 years were included in this meta-analysis. Lastly, subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the potential modifying effects of chronic PA intervention's characteristics and study quality. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies were included in this meta-analysis with a total of 716 participants. The fixed-effects model was used to estimate the pooled effect sizes since heterogeneity across included studies was not significant. The summary effects revealed that chronic PA interventions have a small but positive effects on participants' overall EFs [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.20-0.50] as well as inhibition (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.12-0.62) and working memory (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.02-0.46) domains and a moderate effect on the cognitive flexibility domain (SMD = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.28-1.05). Lastly, the pooled effect was not significantly modified by intervention duration, session length, or frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic PA interventions, especially PA plus cognitive challenges interventions, may be a promising way to promote the development of multiple aspects of EFs in children aged 3-7 years.
OBJECTIVES: To use a quantitative approach to examine the effects of chronic physical activity (PA) interventions on executive functions (EFs) in children aged 3-7 years. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched from their inception to December 2019. Intervention studies with a control group that examined the effects of chronic PA interventions on EFs among children aged 3-7 years were included in this meta-analysis. Lastly, subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the potential modifying effects of chronic PA intervention's characteristics and study quality. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies were included in this meta-analysis with a total of 716 participants. The fixed-effects model was used to estimate the pooled effect sizes since heterogeneity across included studies was not significant. The summary effects revealed that chronic PA interventions have a small but positive effects on participants' overall EFs [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.20-0.50] as well as inhibition (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.12-0.62) and working memory (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.02-0.46) domains and a moderate effect on the cognitive flexibility domain (SMD = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.28-1.05). Lastly, the pooled effect was not significantly modified by intervention duration, session length, or frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic PA interventions, especially PA plus cognitive challenges interventions, may be a promising way to promote the development of multiple aspects of EFs in children aged 3-7 years.
Authors: Xiao Liang; Ru Li; Stephen H S Wong; Raymond K W Sum; Peng Wang; Binrang Yang; Cindy H P Sit Journal: Sports Med Date: 2021-09-01 Impact factor: 11.928