Effects of Exercise Training Under Hypoxia Versus Normoxia on Cognitive Function in Clinical and Non-Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To compare the effects of exercise training under hypoxia versus normoxia on cognitive function in clinical and non-clinical populations.

Data sources: From inception to June 13th, 2022, a systematic search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

Study selection: Randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of exercise under hypoxic vs normoxic on cognition in clinical and non-clinical populations were included. The systematic search generated 14,894 relevant studies, of which 12 were finally included.

Data extraction: Two reviewers independently extracted data from included studies. Results were expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD). Each included study was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 1.0 (RoB1.0) tool. Finally, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system was used to rate the certainty of evidence for each outcome.

Data synthesis: Overall, 12 studies with a total of 338 participants met the inclusion criteria. The pooled results suggested that hypoxia exercise had a small but not statistically significant positive effect on overall cognitive function (SMD=0.064, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.156-0.284, P=.567, very low-certainty evidence), when compared with normoxic exercise. Regarding the domain-specific cognitive functions, there was a medium and significant positive effect on memory (SMD=0.594, 95% CI: 0.068 to 1.120, P=.027, very low-certainty evidence), while effects on visuospatial function (SMD=0.490, 95% CI: -0.030 to 1.010, P=.065, very low-certainty evidence), attention (SMD=0.037, 95% CI: -0.340 to 0.414, P=.847, very low-certainty evidence), executive function (SMD=0.096, 95% CI: -0.268 to 0.460, P=.605, very low-certainty evidence), and processing speed (SMD=-0.145, 95% CI: -0.528 to 0.239, P=.459, very low-certainty evidence) were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: The current pooled results revealed that hypoxic exercise was related to improved cognitive performance. Nevertheless, exercise under hypoxia did not have a significant advantage in cognitive promotion when compared with exercise under normoxia.

Keywords: Cognition, Exercise, Hypoxia, Meta-Analysis, Randomized controlled trial; Rehabilitation.