Such interventions could offer benefit for individuals at risk of dementia

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and stated challenges and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 7 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Associations between physical exercise and aging anxiety among older adults: a serial statistical mediation analysis involving self-efficacy and health anxiety (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi

  6.1 Conclusion This study, centered on the core question of “how physical exer- cise influences aging anxiety in older adults,” constructed and tested a theoretical model with self-efficacy and health anxiety as serial mediators, based on perspectives from Social Cognitive Theory and health psychology. Through a questionnaire survey and data analysis involving 721 older adults, the following main conclusions were drawn: (1) Physical exercise displays a significant negative statistical cor- relation with aging anxiety among older adults: elders report- ing higher physical activity levels tend to report less severe aging anxiety, yet this co-occurrence does not confirm that physical activity causally reduces aging anxiety. (2) Self-efficacy carries a significant independent statistical indi- rect correlational link between physical exercise and aging anxiety. The cross-sectional co-occurrence pattern shows that greater physical activity correlates with stronger self-efficacy, and stronger self-efficacy further correlates with milder aging anxiety. This statistical indirect association provides a theoreti- cal correlational interpretation for the link between exercise and aging anxiety, rather than proving a causal transmission process. (3) Health anxiety plays an independent mediating role between physical exercise and aging anxiety. Physical exercise can effectively correlate with lower levels of health anxiety, and health anxiety positively predicts aging anxiety, with a signifi- cant mediating effect. This indicates that physical exercise indirectly reduces overall aging anxiety by decreasing exces- sive worry about personal health among older adults. (4) Self-efficacy and health anxiety form a serial mediation path- way. Self-efficacy significantly negatively influences health anxiety, and physical exercise further alleviates aging anxiety through the sequential pathway of “enhancing self-efficacy → reducing health anxiety.” This serial mediation model reveals the progressive psychological mechanism through which physical exercise influences aging anxiety: physical exercise first enhances an individual’s self-efficacy, which then reduces anxiety about health issues, ultimately lowering overall anxiety regarding the aging process. In summary, this study not only supports the significant nega- tive association between physical exercise and aging anxiety in older adults but also systematically provides preliminary evidence for the underlying theoretical mechanisms: physical exercise is directly associated with lower aging anxiety, and it also shows sig- nificant statistical indirect effects through its associations with higher self-efficacy and lower health anxiety. Furthermore, self- efficacy and health anxiety form a significant serial statistical indi- rect pathway. 6.2 Research limitation While this study, by constructing a serial mediation model, reveals the psychological mechanisms through which physical exercise influ- ences aging anxiety in older adults and contributes to a deeper theo- retical understanding, it still possesses several limitations that need to be addressed in future research. First, the cross-sectional design precludes any causal inference. This study employed a questionnaire survey to collect data at a single time point. Although the theoretical construction and sta- tistical analyses revealed statistical associations and indirect effects

  generalfuture work
  Keywords: anxiety aging physical health exercise self efficacy older adults statistical serial significant influences theoretical model
• Exercise Habits and Preferences of Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Chronic Pain: An Exploratory Study (2025) · Healthcare · cited 7× · doi

  The study identifies pain as a major barrier to exercise for older adults. The study highlights the importance of addressing psychological factors, such as anxiety and depression, to improve exercise participation. The study notes that lack of motivation is a significant challenge to exercise engagement among older adults.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: study identifies pain major barrier exercise older adults
• Differential association of step count with depressive and anxiety symptoms in older adults at risk of dementia (2026) · medRxiv · doi

  Such interventions could offer benefit for individuals at risk of dementia; however, it remains unknown whether the relationship between physical activity and depressive and anxiety symptoms is the same in people with cognitive concerns, who may struggle to engage in planned physical activities.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: physical interventions offer benefit individuals risk dementia remains unknown whether relationship activity depressive anxiety symptoms

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