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Health, Behavioral, and Functional Outcomes of Exercise Interventions for Aging...
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Health, Behavioral, and Functional Outcomes of Exercise Interventions for Aging and Longevity

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health and Preventive Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 1423

Editor

Prof. Dr. Silvio Rodrigues Marques Neto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Atividade Física, Universidade Salgado de Oliveira (UNIVERSO), Niterói 24030-060, Brazil
2. Laboratório de Fisiologia do Exercício (LAFIEX), Universidade Estácio de Sá, Rio de Janeiro 20771-004, Brazil
3. Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas e Experimentais em Biologia Vascular (BioVasc), Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Brazil
Interests: healthy aging; physical activity; exercise physiology; functional outcomes; cardiovascular health; sarcopenia; longevity; non-communicable diseases; behavioral interventions; clinical exercise research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global increase in life expectancy has brought growing attention to the promotion of healthy aging and strategies to reduce the burden of chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Among lifestyle interventions, regular physical activity and structured exercise programs are well-established, non-pharmacological approaches to enhance physical function, emotional well-being, cognitive performance, and overall quality of life in older adults.

Given this background, we welcome original research articles, clinical trials, reviews, and meta-analyses that explore the health, behavioral, and functional impacts of exercise interventions across the lifespan, with a particular focus on aging populations. Submissions may address various exercise modalities (e.g., aerobic, resistance, high-intensity interval training, mind–body practices), strategies to promote long-term adherence, fall and sarcopenia prevention, psychosocial and cognitive outcomes, or innovative community-based and technology-supported programs that facilitate active lifestyles in older individuals across diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts.

By integrating diverse perspectives from clinical, public health, gerontological, and behavioral sciences, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive and updated view on how exercise can extend the health span, delay functional decline and frailty, reduce healthcare burdens, and promote longevity through accessible, feasible, and evidence-based interventions tailored to the physiological, psychological, and social needs of aging populations.

Prof. Dr. Silvio Rodrigues Marques Neto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • h​​​​ealthy aging in middle-aged and older adults (≥50 years)

  • longevity and age-related health adaptations
  • physical activity across the lifespan and health promotion
  • exercise interventions in older adults
  • functional outcomes: mobility, balance, strength, and function
  • behavioral health and lifestyle modification: diet, physical activity, and obesity management
  • non-communicable diseases prevention and rehabilitation (cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal)
  • sarcopenia prevention and management in elderly populations
  • active lifestyle and health-related quality of life in aging populations

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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24 pages, 6598 KB  
Systematic Review
Exercise Interventions for Cognitive and Functional Outcomes in Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Exploring Dose Metrics, Heterogeneity, and Implementation-Relevant Factors
by Chun-Wei Lu, Tsz-Ching Ng, Yi-Chen Cheng and Chun-Hsien Su
Healthcare 2026, 14(5), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14050689 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1080
Abstract
Background: Exercise interventions are commonly considered as non-pharmacological approaches to support cognitive and functional outcomes in older adults with dementia. However, the effects reported in the literature remain heterogeneous, and commonly used time-based dose markers may be insufficient to explain variability across [...] Read more.
Background: Exercise interventions are commonly considered as non-pharmacological approaches to support cognitive and functional outcomes in older adults with dementia. However, the effects reported in the literature remain heterogeneous, and commonly used time-based dose markers may be insufficient to explain variability across trials. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Eligible trials described benefits with cognitive, functional or behavioral changes associated with structured exercise interventions in older adults with dementia. Random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression models were used to derive pooled effects and assess if linear dose indicators (e.g., duration of intervention, session length, frequency and total cumulative dose) reflected heterogeneity. Results: Twenty-two studies were analyzed. Based on our pooled analyses, a small but statistically significant improvement was observed under the fixed-effects model (g = 0.106, 95% CI 0.015–0.197; p = 0.023), but this was not significant for random-effects models (g = 0.117, 95% CI −0.021–0.254; p = 0.097), while suggesting moderate between-study heterogeneity (Q(21) = 43.530, p = 0.003; I2 = 51.757%; τ2 = 0.052). For the main random-effects meta-regression, standard linear dose indicators did not significantly explain between-study heterogeneity (Qm(3) = 1.06, p = 0.7867; R2_analog ≈ 0), while significant residual heterogeneity remained (I2 ≈ 56.03%). Conclusions: In the literature so far, there are limited and heterogeneous effects of exercise interventions on cognition and functions in older adults with dementia. These findings in all literature suggest that the current evidence does not support a consistent linear dose–response relationship but rather will likely depend to some extent on feasibility and supervision (again, quality of the interventions), thus emphasizing that exercise strategies must be contextually sensitive rather than dose-dependent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health, Behavioral, and Functional Outcomes of Exercise Interventions for Aging and Longevity)
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