{
  "abstract": "While observational and interventional research has linked physical activity (PA) to better psychological and neurocognitive outcomes (termed ‘brain health’), the causal impact of day-to-day PA on brain health remains unclear. We systematically reviewed Mendelian Randomisation (MR) studies testing causal effects of PA, sedentary behaviour and physical fitness on brain health outcomes. Searches in PubMed and medRxiv identified 1114 articles. Sixty-one met the inclusion criteria, with low (52%) to moderate (46%) study quality scores. Thirty studies found only null or directionally opposite effects of PA on brain health outcomes, although with promising evidence emerging for aerobic exercise reducing depression risk (3/3 studies), physical fitness improving mental health (6/8 studies) and cognitive (9/12 studies) outcomes. Results were partially influenced by pleiotropy inherent to complex phenotypes. Overall, the MR evidence for causal effects of PA on brain health remains limited and mixed, highlighting the need for improved phenotyping and triangulation with complementary causal designs.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands",
    "Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands",
    "Amsterdam Neuroscience Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands",
    "Division of Psychology and Mental Health, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK",
    "Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Adrià Túnez",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4208-472X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Margot P. van de Weijer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Joseph Firth"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Karin J. H. Verweij"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jorien L. Treur"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dbdbwd3m8jds4.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s44437-026-00013-2",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13751291/",
  "id": "dbdbwd3m8jds4",
  "issns": [
    "3059-331X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44437-026-00013-2",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Physical Activity and Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7225722905",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s44437-026-00013-2.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13751291",
  "pmid": "43016547",
  "published": "2026-11-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dbdbwd3m8jds4.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-14T12:23:46Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13751291",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44437-026-00013-2"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-14T15:20:45Z",
      "native_id": "MED:43016547",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43016547"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Physical Activity and Health",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Physical activity, fitness, sedentary behaviour, and brain health: a systematic review of Mendelian Randomisation studies",
  "title_text": "Physical activity, fitness, sedentary behaviour, and brain health: a systematic review of Mendelian Randomisation studies",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-15T12:20:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dbdbwd3m8jds4",
  "venue": "Npj Exercise Medicine and Health",
  "versions": []
}