Physical activity, amyloid-β, and tau protein: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between physical activity and p-tau and Aβ in observational and experimental studies.News: We searched PubMed, Web of Sciences, and SCOPUS databases from inception to July 20, 2023, with no language or time restriction. We included observational and experimental studies that evaluated the association of physical activity with Aβ burden tau accumulation in adults. We calculated the standard mean difference (SMD) of the mean difference between active and inactive participants for observational studies and between changes in intervention and control groups in experimental studies. We included seven observational and five experimental studies in the systematic review, totaling 2,039 adults. The association of physical activity with Aβ burden and P-tau accumulation was investigated mostly in cognitively healthy individuals (50%) and adults with mild cognitive impairment (16.7%) or AD (25%). In observational studies, physical activity was associated with lower Aβ burden (SMD: -0.31; 95%CI: -0.52, -0.09; I2: 98.2%), P-tau accumulation (SMD: -0.33; -0.61, -0.06; I2: 98.1%), and higher soluble Aβ42 (SMD: -1.66; -1.94, -1.37; I2: 96.3%). We did not observe a significant effect of exercise interventions on Aβ burden in older adults.Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that physical activity is associated with improved Aβ burden and P-tau accumulation in older adults. We encourage additional experimental studies with larger sample sizes to confirm these findings.