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• Clinical Article •
Effects of aerobic exercise on parents who lost their only child: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and mediation analysis
YAN Jiaqi  LUO Yifeng  CAO Zhihong  GE Jiyuan  LAN Qingyue  QI Rongfeng  LU Guangming  ZHANG Li  QIAN Chaoying 

Cite this article as: YAN J Q, LUO Y F, CAO Z H, et al. Effects of aerobic exercise on parents who lost their only child: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and mediation analysis[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(5): 68-73. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.011.


[Abstract] Objective To investigate the mediating roles and relative contributions of brain structure and function in the effects of aerobic exercise (jogging) on clinical symptoms in parents who lost their only child (PLOCs).Materials and Methods This prospective study prospectively collected the imaging data and general information of PLOCs registered at Yixing People's Hospital from March 2021 to July 2022. The study included 22 parents who engaged in jogging after the loss of their child, 40 who did not engage in jogging, and 40 healthy controls. All participants underwent MRI and completed the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) along with other clinical symptom assessments. Mediation analysis was used to examine the mediating role of changes in brain structure and function in the improvement of clinical symptoms due to jogging, and to compare their relative contributions.Results Compared to the non-jogging group, the jogging group showed lower symptom scores in C (avoidance and numbing) and C7 (loss of future plans) (P = 0.001; P = 0.002). Reductions were observed in the gray matter volume (GMV) in the left globus pallidus, caudate, and right thalamus nucleus (P < 0.05, FDR corrected). The regional homogeneity (ReHo) values in the left inferior temporal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, and right precuneus were lower (P < 0.05, FDR corrected). Mediation analysis indicated that changes in right thalamus GMV and left temporal pole ReHo values both partially mediated the relationship between jogging and C7 symptoms [β = -0.270, 95% confidence interval (CI) was -0.667 to -0.007; β = -0.520, 95% CI was -1.339 to -0.057], with the latter showing a more substantial contribution (17.42% vs. 33.55%).Conclusions Aerobic exercise (jogging) may help alleviate clinical symptoms in PLOCs, and this effect may be mediated by changes in brain structure and function, with brain functional changes playing a more crucial role.
[Keywords] aerobic exercise；parents who lost their only child；magnetic resonance imaging；gray matter volume；regional homogeneity；mediating effect

YAN Jiaqi1   LUO Yifeng1*   CAO Zhihong1   GE Jiyuan1   LAN Qingyue1   QI Rongfeng2   LU Guangming3   ZHANG Li4   QIAN Chaoying1  

1 Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi 214200, China

2 Department of Medical Imaging, Drum Tower Hospital, Medical school of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China

3 Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, China

4 Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Illness, Changsha 410011, China

Corresponding author: LUO Y F, E-mail: luoyifeng1207@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2024-12-02
Accepted  2025-05-09
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.011
Cite this article as: YAN J Q, LUO Y F, CAO Z H, et al. Effects of aerobic exercise on parents who lost their only child: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and mediation analysis[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(5): 68-73. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.011.

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