ExerciseNCT04830059
The Joint Effect of Air Pollution and Exercise on Cognitive Function
A study testing Exercise and Air purification in people with Exercise and Air Pollution, run by Tsinghua University at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
A double-blind randomized controlled trial design is used in this study. A mixed design of 2 (pollution reduction group vs. no pollution reduction group) × 3 (high intensity intermittent exercise [HIIT], moderate intensity of aerobic exercise [MICT] and control group [CONT]) is used. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 20 to 30 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Exercise, Air Pollution, Cognition
- What is being tested?
- Exercise and Air purification
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 93 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 1 Nov 2020to 30 Dec 2021
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 20 to 30 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- No regular exercise in the past six months;
- Healthy people without history of disease;
- Aged between 20 and 30 years old.
Who cannot join
- Professional athletes;
- Regular exercise in the past six months;
- People who are injured or have a history of disease in the past six months;
- People who have a history of taking medicine in the past six months.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
A double-blind randomized controlled trial design is used in this study. A mixed design of 2 (pollution reduction group vs. no pollution reduction group) × 3 (high intensity intermittent exercise [HIIT], moderate intensity of aerobic exercise [MICT] and control group [CONT]) is used. 93 subjects recruited by advertising will be randomly divided into 6 groups: high intensity exercise group (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction), moderate intensity aerobic exercise group (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction) and Stretching group (Control) (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction).
Read the detailed description
Environmental intervention program In the pollution reduction groups, the air purification system is used 2 hours before the subjects entered the room to minimize the indoor PM2.5 and PM10.
Exercise intervention program including HIIT, MICT and Stretching (Control) group :
The VO2max of all subjects are measured one week before the experiment. HIIT program: 20 minutes exercise of HIIT (1min of 100% VO2max and 1min of 50% VO2max alternately) and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation.
MICT program: 20 minutes exercise of 70-75% VO2max and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation.
Stretching control group: 30 minutes of stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses taught by professional therapists.
- Conditions
- Exercise, Air Pollution, Cognition, Health Promotion
- Being tested
- Exercise, Air purification
- Medical subject headings
- Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
ExerciseBehavioural
Two types of exercise intervention and control group
Air purificationBehavioural
Air purification in order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| High intensity intermittent training | Experimental | HIIT exercise program: 20 minutes HIIT exercise (1min 100% VO2max and 1min 50% VO2max alternately), and warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise for 10 minutes. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise |
| HIIT with pollution reduction | Experimental | HIIT program: 20 minutes HIIT exercise (1min 100% VO2max and 1min 50% VO2max alternately), and warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise for 10 minutes; Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Air purification |
| Moderate intensity continuous training | Experimental | MICT program: 20 minutes of 70-75% VO2max exercise and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise |
| MICT with pollution reduction | Experimental | MICT program: 20 minutes of 70-75% VO2max exercise and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise; Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Air purification |
| Stretch control group | Experimental | Stretching control group: 30 minutes stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses is taught by professional therapist. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise |
| Control with pollution reduction | Experimental | Stretching control group: 30 minutes stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses is taught by professional therapist.
Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. Receives: Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Air purification |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change of cognitive function
Cognitive function measured by computer-based tasks including executive function
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Change of biomarkers
The cognitive-related biomarkers including brain derived neurotrophic factor
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Change of oxyhemoglobin
Mearsurement of oxyhemoglobin using fNIRS
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Change of transcriptions
The molecular response of exercise and environment through the measurement of peripheral blood
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Change of metabonomics
The molecular response of exercise and environment through the measurement of peripheral blood
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Change of cerebral blood flow
The blood flow of middle cerebral artery measured by ultrasonic doppler
Measured: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Secondary outcomes (7)
Change of cognitive function
Cognitive function measured by computer-based tasks including executive function
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of aerobic capacity
The aerobic capacity measured by the gas metabolism analyzer
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of cerebral blood flow
The blood flow of middle cerebral artery measured by ultrasonic doppler
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of biomarkers
The cognitive-related biomarkers including brain derived neurotrophic factor
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of oxyhemoglobin
Mearsurement of oxyhemoglobin using functional near infrared spectroscopy
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of metabonomics
The molecular response of exercise through the measurement of peripheral blood
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of transcriptions
The molecular response of exercise through the measurement of peripheral blood
Measured: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted2 Apr 2021
- Study start1 Nov 2020
- Primary completion30 Oct 2021
- Study completion30 Dec 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for ExerciseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Double blind randomized controlled trial
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 93 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Tsinghua University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jianxiu Liu, Tsinghua University
- Investigators
- Qian Di, Sc.D., Study director, Wanke School of public health, Tsinghua UniversityXindong Ma, PhD, Study chair, Department of physical education, Tsinghua University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04830059
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- THU2021
- Status last verified
- Apr 2021
- First submitted
- 29 Mar 2021
- Last updated
- 15 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Publications
Liu J, Zhang J, Li X, Wu B, Ablitip A, Wang D, Ke L, Di Q, Liu R, Ma X. Metabolomic profiling of intensity-dependent responses to acute exercise in healthy humans. J Transl Med. 2026 Mar 5;24(1):502. doi: 10.1186/s12967-026-07937-1.
PubMed 41787548Liu J, Min L, Liu R, Zhang X, Wu M, Di Q, Ma X. The effect of exercise on cerebral blood flow and executive function among young adults: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2023 May 22;13(1):8269. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33063-9.
PubMed 37217511Liu J, Zhang Y, Li X, Wang D, Shi B, You Y, Min L, Luo B, Li Y, Di Q, Ma X. Exercise improves mental health status of young adults via attenuating inflammation factors but modalities matter. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 14;13:1067890. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1067890. eCollection 2022.
PubMed 36590621
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Joint Effect of Air Pollution and Exercise on Cognitive Function
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04830059
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- THU2021
- Conditions
- Exercise, Air Pollution, Cognition, Health Promotion
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 93 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Tsinghua UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Nov 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Oct 2021 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Dec 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 2 Apr 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
A double-blind randomized controlled trial design is used in this study. A mixed design of 2 (pollution reduction group vs. no pollution reduction group) × 3 (high intensity intermittent exercise [HIIT], moderate intensity of aerobic exercise [MICT] and control group [CONT]) is used. 93 subjects recruited by advertising will be randomly divided into 6 groups: high intensity exercise group (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction), moderate intensity aerobic exercise group (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction) and Stretching group (Control) (pollution reduction vs no pollution reduction).
Detailed description
Environmental intervention program In the pollution reduction groups, the air purification system is used 2 hours before the subjects entered the room to minimize the indoor PM2.5 and PM10.
Exercise intervention program including HIIT, MICT and Stretching (Control) group :
The VO2max of all subjects are measured one week before the experiment. HIIT program: 20 minutes exercise of HIIT (1min of 100% VO2max and 1min of 50% VO2max alternately) and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation.
MICT program: 20 minutes exercise of 70-75% VO2max and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation.
Stretching control group: 30 minutes of stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses taught by professional therapists.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 6
- Model description
- Double blind randomized controlled trial
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| High intensity intermittent training | Experimental | Behavioral: ExerciseHIIT exercise program: 20 minutes HIIT exercise (1min 100% VO2max and 1min 50% VO2max alternately), and warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise for 10 minutes. |
| HIIT with pollution reduction | Experimental | Behavioral: Exercise, Behavioral: Air purificationHIIT program: 20 minutes HIIT exercise (1min 100% VO2max and 1min 50% VO2max alternately), and warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise for 10 minutes; Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. |
| Moderate intensity continuous training | Experimental | Behavioral: ExerciseMICT program: 20 minutes of 70-75% VO2max exercise and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise. |
| MICT with pollution reduction | Experimental | Behavioral: Exercise, Behavioral: Air purificationMICT program: 20 minutes of 70-75% VO2max exercise and 10 minutes of warm-up and relaxation before and after exercise; Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. |
| Stretch control group | Experimental | Behavioral: ExerciseStretching control group: 30 minutes stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses is taught by professional therapist. |
| Control with pollution reduction | Experimental | Behavioral: Exercise, Behavioral: Air purificationStretching control group: 30 minutes stretching, posture adjustment and rehabilitation courses is taught by professional therapist. Environmental pollution intervention program: air purification system is used order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 20 to 30 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- No regular exercise in the past six months;
- Healthy people without history of disease;
- Aged between 20 and 30 years old.
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Professional athletes;
- Regular exercise in the past six months;
- People who are injured or have a history of disease in the past six months;
- People who have a history of taking medicine in the past six months.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| ExerciseTwo types of exercise intervention and control group | Behavioural | Control with pollution reduction, HIIT with pollution reduction, High intensity intermittent training, MICT with pollution reduction, Moderate intensity continuous training, Stretch control group |
| Air purificationAir purification in order to reduce the PM2.5 and PM10 | Behavioural | Control with pollution reduction, HIIT with pollution reduction, MICT with pollution reduction |
Primary outcome
Change of cognitive function
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Cognitive function measured by computer-based tasks including executive function
Change of biomarkers
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
The cognitive-related biomarkers including brain derived neurotrophic factor
Change of oxyhemoglobin
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
Mearsurement of oxyhemoglobin using fNIRS
Change of transcriptions
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
The molecular response of exercise and environment through the measurement of peripheral blood
Change of metabonomics
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
The molecular response of exercise and environment through the measurement of peripheral blood
Change of cerebral blood flow
Time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).
The blood flow of middle cerebral artery measured by ultrasonic doppler
7 secondary outcomes
Change of cognitive function
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of aerobic capacity
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of cerebral blood flow
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of biomarkers
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of oxyhemoglobin
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of metabonomics
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Change of transcriptions
Time frame: Three months (from baseline to the third month)
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Dec 2025.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 41787548Liu J, Zhang J, Li X, Wu B, Ablitip A, Wang D, Ke L, Di Q, Liu R, Ma X. Metabolomic profiling of intensity-dependent responses to acute exercise in healthy humans. J Transl Med. 2026 Mar 5;24(1):502. doi: 10.1186/s12967-026-07937-1.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 37217511Liu J, Min L, Liu R, Zhang X, Wu M, Di Q, Ma X. The effect of exercise on cerebral blood flow and executive function among young adults: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2023 May 22;13(1):8269. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33063-9.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 36590621Liu J, Zhang Y, Li X, Wang D, Shi B, You Y, Min L, Luo B, Li Y, Di Q, Ma X. Exercise improves mental health status of young adults via attenuating inflammation factors but modalities matter. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 14;13:1067890. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1067890. eCollection 2022.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Qian Di, Sc.D. study director
Wanke School of public health, Tsinghua University
Xindong Ma, PhD study chair
Department of physical education, Tsinghua University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Exercise and Air purification in people with Exercise and Air Pollution, run by Tsinghua University at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change of cognitive function (time frame: Before and after acute exercise (about 30 minutes).). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04830059, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Dec 2025.