Study archive · page 4

In a 12-week randomised trial, 150 Chinese adults aged 60-79 assigned to three weekly square-dance sessions improved more than health-education controls on the six-minute walk test, by 41.5 m, and on a timed up-and-go balance test. Blood pressure, depressive and anxiety symptoms, wellbeing and quality of life all shifted modestly in their favour, with 87% adherence and no serious adverse events.

⚠What it shows: Single 12-week randomised trial in 150 community-dwelling Chinese adults aged 60-79, single-blind with a health-education comparator; short duration, culturally specific activity and no follow-up beyond week 12.RCT · Front Public Health

Pooling 53 randomised trials in footballers, strength training ranked top for jump height, squat one-rep max, 5m, 10m and 30m sprints and agility, while endurance training ranked best for VO2max. The rankings come from probability scores across a network of trials, not head-to-head certainty.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review and network meta-analysis of 53 RCTs totalling 1,580 footballers; rankings rest on SUCRA probabilities rather than direct comparisons, trial quality and dosing varied, and findings apply to trained football players rather than general gym-goers.Systematic review · Front Physiol

In a 24-week feasibility trial with young Black women, adherence to supervised resistance sessions ran at 93.9% and 88.8% across the two groups — but collapsed to 14.3% and 15.4% once training became unsupervised.

⚠What it shows: Small feasibility RCT, n=27 young Black women, designed to test acceptability rather than health outcomes; needs larger efficacy trials.RCT · Int J Environ Res Public Health

Pooling 12 randomised trials in 1,050 women in the menopausal transition, conventional and mind-body exercise improved menopausal symptoms, health-related quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms compared with control conditions. Exploratory analyses hinted the size of the benefit depends on which type of exercise is used.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 12 RCTs (1,050 women) published between 2020 and 2025; pooled effects for symptoms and quality of life had very wide confidence intervals that only just excluded no effect, the individual trials were small and varied in exercise type, and subgroup comparisons by modality were exploratory only.Review · Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol

In up to 4,881 British adults aged 46-48, lifting weights at least twice a week was associated with a 3.99% lower total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio even after adjusting for device-measured moderate-to-vigorous activity and other lifestyle factors. Associations with blood pressure and HbA1c faded once smoking, alcohol, education, self-rated health and disability were accounted for.

⚠What it shows: Cross-sectional analysis of one birth cohort (up to 4,881 adults aged 46-48); resistance exercise frequency was self-reported, so no causal direction can be established and only one of three outcomes survived full adjustment.Study · Sport Sci Health

Among 863 adults in routine primary care, type 2 diabetes prevalence fell in steps across activity levels, from 29.7% in the least active to 8.9% in the most active. After adjustment, low activity was associated with 4.32 times the odds of documented type 2 diabetes compared with high activity, and moderate activity with 2.07 times the odds.

⚠What it shows: Cross-sectional observational study of 863 primary-care patients with activity estimated in routine physician interviews; no HbA1c, glucose, diet or medication data, so cause and direction cannot be established.Cohort · Medicina (Kaunas)

Pooling 53 studies covering 86,652 people, esports players did not differ from non-players on physical activity, BMI, sleep duration, anxiety, stress or grip strength, and showed slightly lower depression scores after sensitivity analysis. Non-professional players did carry 4.57 percentage points more body fat, and participation correlated with sedentary behaviour, BMI and gaming disorder.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 53 studies (86,652 people), but the included studies were cross-sectional with moderate risk of bias and high heterogeneity, so nothing here shows direction of cause.Systematic review · Sports Med Open

In a pooled analysis of 12 randomised trials, combining aerobic and resistance training in overweight or obese adolescents lowered fasting insulin and blood pressure versus no exercise, and modestly beat aerobic exercise alone on fasting insulin, HOMA-IR and adiponectin. Fasting glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides did not budge.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of only 12 RCTs in overweight or obese adolescents; GRADE rated most outcomes low or very low quality, protocols varied widely, blinding was absent and studies clustered regionally, so effect sizes should be read cautiously.Review · Front Public Health

In a randomised trial of German shift workers, four personalised online counselling messages did not improve sleep efficiency any more than simply completing weekly sleep diaries. Sleep efficiency, insomnia and depression symptoms improved in both groups, while daytime sleepiness improved in neither.

⚠What it shows: One small superiority RCT, intention-to-treat n=66 German shift workers, four weeks, waiting-list control that also kept sleep diaries; self-reported outcomes and the authors flag limited sample size and time frame.RCT · Sci Rep

In a meta-analysis of 19 cohort studies covering 9,460,018 pregnancies, sleep-disordered breathing was associated with higher odds of gestational hypertension (OR 1.50) and preeclampsia (OR 1.83), with obstructive sleep apnoea the strongest signal (preeclampsia OR 2.13). Insomnia and poor sleep quality on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were not significantly associated with hypertensive outcomes.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 19 observational cohort studies, so associations only and open to confounding by factors such as body weight; sleep disorders were defined and measured differently across studies and no trial has shown that treating them lowers hypertensive risk.Study · Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol

In a randomised, double-blind trial of 44 healthy adults with poor sleep, hydrogen-rich jelly was no better than placebo on any sleep or anxiety measure. Only in exploratory analysis did people with fewer hydrogen-producing gut bacteria report greater improvement in sleep quality and mental stress.

⚠What it shows: One small randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 44 healthy adults with poor sleep quality; the overall result was null and the microbiome finding is an exploratory subgroup interaction the authors themselves call a hypothesis needing confirmation in larger studies.RCT · Sci Rep

In a 14-day randomised trial in under-19 footballers, CoQ10 (300 mg/day) lowered markers of oxidative stress, muscle damage and cortisol more than taurine, while taurine raised the anti-inflammatory marker IL-10 more; both blunted the drop in immune markers. These were blood markers only, with eight players per group.

⚠What it shows: Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled but very small: 24 male under-19 soccer players, only 8 per group, 14 days, and outcomes were circulating biomarkers with no performance or recovery measures. The authors call the findings preliminary and pending confirmation in larger trials.RCT · Nutrients

Across 38 placebo-controlled trials in 703 healthy adults, beetroot juice produced a small but significant improvement in VO2max/VO2peak (SMD 0.24). The gain was clearer in recreationally active people (SMD 0.38) and not clearly demonstrated in highly trained athletes (SMD 0.07).

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 38 randomised and crossover trials, 703 healthy adults; effects are small, funnel-plot asymmetry suggested small-study bias and the pooled estimate shrank to 0.19 after adjustment. Certainty rated moderate.Systematic review · Front Nutr

In a crossover trial, 13 physically active men produced greater peak torque and relative peak power on isokinetic knee extension at 60 and 180 degrees per second after beetroot juice containing 800 mg of nitrate than after placebo. Nothing changed during the faster 240 degrees per second fatigue protocol, and muscle EMG and post-exercise lactate were unchanged.

⚠What it shows: One small randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 13 physically active young men using isokinetic dynamometry, not free-weight lifting; mechanisms unexplained and replication needed.RCT · Nutrients

A meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials found that purely mental training — no physical component at all — improved older adults' walking speed while they simultaneously performed a cognitive task, but did nothing measurable for ordinary walking speed, functional mobility or balance.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 RCTs in older adults; the dual-task gait finding rests on moderate-quality evidence from 376 participants, while the balance estimate was rated very low quality with only 139 participants, and no trial measured falls.Meta-analysis · JMIR Aging

A systematic review and meta-analysis in healthy adults links multi-session resistance exercise to improvements in global cognition, executive function, working memory and processing speed. Episodic memory showed no consistent benefit.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis with substantial between-study heterogeneity; interventions varied in duration, intensity and cognitive measures, and evidence in some domains was limited.Review · Ageing Res Rev

Older adults with mild cognitive impairment who practised tai chi and baduanjin three times a week for 12 weeks outscored controls by 2.04 points on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and improved strength and mobility — though BMI and body fat didn't significantly change.

⚠What it shows: Single 12-week RCT in community-dwelling Chinese adults aged 60+; sample size not reported in the abstract and no long-term follow-up.Study · J Aging Phys Act

In a double-blind, sham-controlled trial of 60 adults with chronic non-specific low back pain, both high- and low-intensity laser acupuncture added to exercise outperformed sham laser plus exercise on pain, trunk strength, mobility, fatigue and disability. The high-intensity version delivered greater gains in trunk extensor strength and pain relief.

⚠What it shows: One RCT, n=60 split across three groups; a four-week intervention with only a one-month follow-up, and the authors say optimal parameters and long-term effects need further research.Clinical trial · Front Med (Lausanne)

A systematic review of 103 studies (9951 patients, 44 randomised trials) found that distending the shoulder capsule with fluid gave slightly more external rotation than a corticosteroid injection alone at 12 weeks, with no better pain or disability scores, and only marginal pain gains when added to physiotherapy. Technique varied enormously between clinics.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review with meta-analysis of 44 RCTs, but the significant findings were rated low or very low certainty with high heterogeneity (I2 up to 81.6%), and pooled techniques differed so widely that an optimal protocol could not be identified.Study · Br J Sports Med

Pooling 20 randomised trials in 745 college students, high-intensity interval training beat moderate-intensity continuous training for body weight (-1.23 kg), body fat percentage (-1.21%), waist circumference (-1.33 cm) and fat mass (-0.99 kg). It did not outperform steady cardio on cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose or fasting insulin.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 20 RCTs, 745 healthy college students; differences are small in absolute terms, evidence quality was rated moderate to very low, and glucose and lipid outcomes were very low certainty.Meta-analysis · Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)

Pooling 12 randomised trials in adults with hypertension or elevated blood pressure, resistance training significantly lowered systolic pressure with a moderate effect and diastolic pressure with a smaller one. The authors caution it should be seen as complementary to medication, not a replacement.

⚠What it shows: Meta-analysis of 12 RCTs reporting standardised mean differences rather than mmHg, so the real-world size is unclear; without individual participant data the authors say they cannot show anyone shifted blood pressure category.Review · J Clin Med

Young men taking protein with carbohydrate during their workouts gained no more muscle fibre size, lean mass or strength over 8 weeks than men taking carbohydrate alone with the same calories. The resistance training itself worked well in both groups, raising lean mass, strength, VO2max, fat oxidation and fibre cross-sectional area.

⚠What it shows: Small exploratory RCT: just 17 physically active young men (8 vs 9) over 8 weeks, which the authors say cannot exclude modest effects — a null result from an underpowered trial, not proof of no benefit.Study · Nutrients

A network meta-analysis of 47 randomised trials in 6230 children and adults found that adding oral antihistamines to eczema treatment cut severity and itch scores by amounts well below what patients would notice as important, and probably did not improve sleep disturbance or flare-ups. First-generation antihistamines probably increase cognitive impairment.

⚠What it shows: Systematic review and network meta-analysis of 47 randomised trials (6230 children and adults, mostly moderate to severe atopic dermatitis); certainty was moderate for the severity, itch and cognitive-impairment findings but only low for sleep and exacerbations, and the trials were largely in more severe disease.Meta-analysis · BMJ

In a 50-person pilot trial in people with metabolic syndrome, a 20-day course of "autoprobiotics" — bacteria grown from each patient's own gut Enterococcus strains — reduced obesity measures, lowered glucose and HbA1c and left lower HbA1c and triglycerides than the nutritional mix alone by day 28, alongside larger shifts in gut bacteria.

⚠What it shows: A single 20-day pilot RCT in 50 adults aged 42-63 with metabolic syndrome (26 treated, 24 control) at one Russian centre, with short follow-up to day 28 and many microbiome outcomes reported — and the personalised strains are not an off-the-shelf product.RCT · Nutrients