Rico-González Markel, Martín-Moya Ricardo, Giles-Girela Francisco Javier, Ardigò Luca Paolo, González-Fernández Francisco Tomás
Department of Didactics of Musical, Plastic and Corporal Expression, University of the Basque Country, UPV-EHU, 48940 Leioa, Spain.
Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences, Campus of Melilla, University of Granada, 52006 Melilla, Spain.
J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025 Jul 4;10(3):254. doi: 10.3390/jfmk10030254.
Cardiovascular fitness has been proposed as a key factor influencing executive functioning and academic performance during childhood and adolescence. However, the extent and consistency of this relationship remain unclear across diverse populations and educational contexts. This systematic review aimed to evaluate whether cardiovascular fitness, particularly measured through VOmax, is consistently associated with improvements in executive function and academic performance among students from early childhood to adolescence. A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and ProQuest Central was conducted up to 15 November 2022. Studies were included if they examined correlations between VOmax and cognitive or academic outcomes in students from preschool to high school. Methodological quality was assessed using the MINORS checklist. Out of 271 identified studies, 12 met all inclusion criteria. Evidence suggests that higher VOmax is generally associated with improved executive function domains such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control, as well as academic performance indicators including mathematics and reading scores. Neurophysiological studies also indicate links between cardiovascular fitness and brain structure/function. However, the strength and specificity of these associations vary across studies due to methodological differences, limited sample diversity, and inconsistent control for confounders. Cardiovascular fitness appears to have a positive, albeit complex, relationship with cognitive function and academic performance in youth. Future research should adopt longitudinal and experimental designs to clarify causal pathways and consider moderating factors such as sex, age, and psychosocial variables.
心血管健康已被认为是影响儿童和青少年执行功能及学业成绩的关键因素。然而，在不同人群和教育背景下，这种关系的程度和一致性仍不明确。本系统综述旨在评估心血管健康，特别是通过最大摄氧量（VOmax）衡量的心血管健康，是否与幼儿到青少年学生的执行功能改善和学业成绩持续相关。截至2022年11月15日，对PubMed、Web of Science、SPORTDiscus和ProQuest Central进行了系统检索。如果研究考察了学龄前到高中学生的VOmax与认知或学业成果之间的相关性，则纳入该研究。使用MINORS清单评估方法学质量。在271项已识别的研究中，12项符合所有纳入标准。证据表明，较高的VOmax通常与执行功能领域（如注意力、工作记忆和抑制控制）的改善以及学业成绩指标（包括数学和阅读分数）相关。神经生理学研究也表明心血管健康与脑结构/功能之间存在联系。然而，由于方法学差异、样本多样性有限以及对混杂因素的控制不一致，这些关联的强度和特异性在不同研究中有所不同。心血管健康似乎与青少年的认知功能和学业成绩存在积极但复杂的关系。未来的研究应采用纵向和实验设计来阐明因果途径，并考虑性别、年龄和社会心理变量等调节因素。
