@misc{10481/90590,
year = {2024},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/90590},
abstract = {Background: Emerging research supports the idea that physical activity benefits brain development. However, the body of evidence focused on understanding the effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure during childhood is still in its infancy, and further well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed. Aim: This study aimed: (i) to investigate the effects of a 20-week physical activity intervention on global white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity, and (ii) to explore whether the effect of physical activity on white matter microstructure is global or restricted to a particular set of white matter bundles. Methods: In total, 109 children aged 8 to 11 years with overweight or obesity were randomized and allocated to either the physical activity program or the control group. Data were collected from November 2014 to June 2016, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data processing and analyses conducted between June 2017 and November 2021. Images were pre-processed using the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the Brain´s Software Library (FSL) and white matter properties were explored by probabilistic fiber tractography and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses were performed for all children who completed the pre-test and post-test DTI assessment, with good quality DTI data (N = 89). Of them, 83 children (10.06±1.11 years, 39 % girls, intervention group=44) met the per-protocol criteria (attended at least 70 % of the recommended sessions). Our probabilistic fiber tractography analysis did not show any effects in terms of global and tract-specific fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in the per-protocol or intention-to-treat analyses. Additionally, we did not observe any effects on the voxel-wise DTI parameters (i.e., FA and MD) using the most restricted TBSS approach (i.e., per protocol analyses and p-corrected image with a statistical threshold of p < 0.05). In the intention-to-treat analysis, we found that our physical activity program had a borderline effect (p-corrected image with a statistical threshold of p < 0.1) on 7 different clusters, including a cluster in the corpus callosum. Conclusion: We conclude that a 20-week physical activity intervention was not enough to induce changes in global and tract-specific white matter during childhood. The effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure could be restricted to local changes in several white matter tracts (e.g., the body of the corpus callosum). However, our results were not significant, and more interventions are needed to determine whether and how physical activity affects white matter microstructure during childhood.},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Economy
and Competitiveness and the Assessment and Promotion and the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF)” (DEP2013-47540, DEP2016-
79512-R, and DEP2017-91544-EXP)},
organization = {European Commission
(No 667302)},
organization = {Alicia Koplowitz Foundation},
organization = {University of Granada, Plan Propio de
Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence},
organization = {Unit of
Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía,
Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades and
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ref. SOMM17/6107/
UGR},
organization = {SAMID III
network, RETICS, funded by the PN I+D+I 2017-2021 (Spain)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RTI2018-095284-
564J-100)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
(RYC2019-027287-I)},
organization = {Grant from ANID/BECAS
Chile/72180543},
organization = {Margarita Salas grant from the Spanish Ministry
Universities},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Science,
Innovation and Universities (FJCI-2017-33396)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry
of Science and Innovation (IJC2019-041916-I)},
publisher = {Elsevier},
keywords = {DTI},
keywords = {Exercise},
keywords = {Brain development},
title = {The effects of physical activity on white matter microstructure in children with overweight or obesity: The ActiveBrains randomized clinical trial},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100426},
author = {Rodríguez Ayllon, María and Verdejo Román, Juan and Lesnovskaya, Alina and Mora González, José Rafael and Solís Urra, Patricio and Catena Martínez, Andrés and Erickson, Kirk I. and Ortega Porcel, Francisco Bartolomé and Esteban Cornejo, Irene},
}